Elon Musk took to Instagram to tease a quick glimpse of a Tesla Model S inside a tunnel dug by The Boring Company. The photo comes roughly four weeks after Musk first demonstrated a Model S being lowered on a car elevator and into the entrance of what will ultimately be a 2-mile “test tunnel” beneath Los Angeles.
Being able to fit a vehicle inside the 13.5 foot diameter tunnel is an important step towards Musk’s vision for a futuristic underground transportation system wherein cars would be transported on “electric skates” between cities at speeds up to 130 mph (200 km/h). Beyond being able to transport vehicles on all-electric skates, and people through Tesla “high passenger-density urban transport” vehicles, Musk has said in the past that The Boring Company tunnels will also be able to support a Hyperloop system.
Incidentally, Musk’s photo of the Model S inside The Boring Company tunnel was shared on the same day WARR won SpaceX’s second Hyperloop competition after their pod reached a top speed of 202 mph (324 km/h).
Tesla Model S inside The Boring Company test tunnel entrance in Hawthorne, CA [Source: Elon Musk’s Instagram]
The Boring Company recently won approval from the Hawthorne City Council to dig a 2-mile test tunnel beneath the municipal airport that’s adjacent to SpaceX. Documents submitted to the city council noted, “The test tunnel project would involve SpaceX engineers repeatedly testing personal vehicle types suitable for placement on the skates; refinement of the design and technology; and general data collection on performance, durability, and application,”
At Musk’s current rate of revealing new project development’s taking place at his tunnel-digging venture, we’re on pace to likely see a working prototype of the all-electric transportation skate in September.
Learn more about The Boring Company including their cost cutting plan and engineering approach to achieving scale.