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Elon Musk pitches 150 MPH rides in Boring Company tunnels for $1
Earlier in the evening Musk retweeted an LA Metro tweet that said it's coordinating with The Boring Company on its test and said the two will be "partners" going forward. Much of what Musk discussed about how his concept in-city Loop would work has been answered in concept videos and the company's FAQ, but he specifically said that the plan is for rides that cost a $1, and carry up to 16 passengers through hundreds of tunnels to those small, parking space-size tunnels located throughout a city.
The big problem is digging those tunnels to start with, and while part of the session included video of a speedy test run through the tunnel Musk has already dug on SpaceX property, the plan is to pick up the pace. Davis said Musk has challenged his team to match the digging pace of a snail (0.03 MPH), and get up to 1/10th of the average walking speed of a human at about 0.3 MPH -- compared to its current top speed of about 0.003 MPH.
Previously: Elon Musk Wants to be Boring
Elon Musk's Boring Tunnel Near Los Angeles
(Score: 3, Interesting) by tftp on Saturday May 19 2018, @06:35PM (3 children)
The $96/hr will pay salary of only one lowly tech who will be servicing this line. If you double the rate - two techs. I doubt that this will be sufficient, as there no money left to even buy them a uniform, let alone some specialized inspection equipment that in itself has to be inspected periodically. But a transport system needs a few more workers, like cleaners, security. Spare parts are necessary. Management and finances can be shared among all lines.
In other words, Musk voices an unrealistic ticket price in well-founded hope that when the system opens, nothing can be done. It's a standard tactic of many construction projects that end up late, worse and expensive. Everyone can name a few of those.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 19 2018, @07:46PM (1 child)
Don't you mean three lowly techs? Or does Elon expect one tech to live down there and be on call 24/7? {grin}
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 20 2018, @12:51AM
(Score: 2) by canopic jug on Sunday May 20 2018, @09:39AM
The $96/hr will pay salary of only one lowly tech who will be servicing this line. If you double the rate - two techs. I doubt that this will be sufficient, as there no money left to even buy them a uniform, let alone some specialized inspection equipment that in itself has to be inspected periodically. But a transport system needs a few more workers, like cleaners, security. Spare parts are necessary. Management and finances can be shared among all lines.
Wait till you hear the rest of the pitch. It depends heavily on enforcing a gig economy model on the staff, each of whom will be an independent contractor supplying their own uniforms and anything else needed for the job out of their own pockets. They'll pool money every month to pay for inspections and spare parts.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.