Connect with us

News

NYC subway closure canceled, Elon Musk’s Boring Company tapped for ideas to improve other systems

Published

7 years ago

on

The Governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo, announced on Thursday evening that the current plan to shut down the 225,000 commuter-strong L-train tunnel in the New York City public transportation system for a 15-month-long repair process will no longer be necessary due to a plan implementing new reconstruction techniques. After consulting with a panel of expert engineers from Columbia and Cornell Universities, a new design was proposed to be used in the tunnel which would streamline the repair process and require closures during nights and weekends with partial train tunnel service still available. When asked in a conference call Friday whether other innovators such as Elon Musk of Tesla and The Boring Company were consulted, the governor said Musk had not advised on this specific issue, but was consulted on improvements to the subway’s signaling system. The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA), New York’s transportation network, accepted the Governor’s panel recommendations following the announcement.

The L train tunnel under the East River connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York, known as the Canarsie Tunnel, was damaged during Hurricane Sandy, the Category 3 major hurricane which affected the entire eastern seaboard of the United States in 2012. Its storm surge hit NYC on October 29, flooding huge portions of the island, including 9 of the 14 underwater tunnels in the city’s transport system. Of these, 6 have already been repaired. According to the MTA, the damage to the Canarsie Tunnel is comparable to tunnel damage experienced on 9/11, underlining the extent of the repairs needed and the reason behind the original required shutdown.

Saltwater flooding in from the East River during Sandy significantly damaged the infrastructure of the 7,100-foot-long tunnel, including tracks, signals, switches, cables, and lighting. The flood waters additionally filled protected cable tube pathways called “duct banks” throughout the tunnel, and once dry, the silt hardened to a cement-like consistency inside them, making it impossible to rip out and restore the damaged components. Canarsie Tunnel also opened in 1924, adding age to the brewing number of problems being amplified by the lingering effects of corrosive saltwater remnants from Sandy.

In 2016, residents were informed the tunnel was possibly going to be shut down for 15 months to address the extensive repairs, causing significant commute challenges for the approximately 225,000 riders depending on the service. The date for service closure was scheduled to begin April 27, 2019, but the impending deadline motivated Governor Cuomo to seek out alternative solutions. “I can’t tell you the number of people in Brooklyn who have looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Are you sure that there is nothing else that can be done and there’s no way you can possibly shorten this?’,” Cuomo stated in a recent press conference announcing the new subway repair plan.

The repair announcement was the end result of a review process Governor Cuomo began on December 14, 2018, wherein he and a consulting team walked through the damaged tunnel to assess the repairs needed first hand. While the plan will take longer than the original project’s timeline – 20 months instead of 15 – the ability to remain open during the repairs is a welcome relief for city residents. The technology that will enable the tunnel to remain open includes wire wrapping along with ultrasound and laser measurement (LIDAR) tools to assess and monitor damage. Engineers from Cornell University’s College of Engineering and Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science with expertise in the type of construction involved were the primary sources for the solutions chosen.

Advertisement
-->

Similar to the innovations that came from Musk’s Boring Company tunneling project, the governor has hopes that the unique system planned for the Canarsie Tunnel will inspire other similar repair projects. “This could be a national model because it is a totally different way to reconstruct a tunnel,” Governor Cuomo touted at the press conference. Also, according to the governor, the techniques in the new plan have been implemented in projects in Europe before for bridge repair, but not in tunnel reconstruction. He hopes to bring more out-of-the-box innovations to the city’s transportation as well. In reference to Elon Musk’s companies, he said, “I don’t believe a time where they’re talking about flying cars and you can get into a car and drive 100 miles on the LIE and never touch the steering wheel, that there’s not a better technology that can regulate the trains!”

For more about the announcement and repair plan, watch Governor Cuomo’s press conference below:

 

Advertisement
-->
Related Topics:

Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla announces major milestone at Gigafactory Shanghai

First deliveries started in December 2019, with the first units being given to employees. By the end of 2020, the plant was building cars at a run rate of around 150,000 vehicles annually.

Published

2 hours ago

on

December 8, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has announced a major milestone at its Chinese manufacturing facility, Gigafactory Shanghai, confirming on Monday that it had built its four millionth vehicle.

Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai first started building cars back in October 2019 with Model 3 assembly, just ten months after the company broke ground on the plant’s 86-hectare piece of land.

First deliveries started in December 2019, with the first units being given to employees. By the end of 2020, the plant was building cars at a run rate of around 150,000 vehicles annually. Production continued to ramp up, and by September 2023, less than three years after it started building Tesla’s EVs, it had built its two millionth vehicle.

Fast forward to December 2025, and Tesla has confirmed that four million cars have rolled off of production lines at the plant, a major milestone in the six short years it has been active:

The capacity at Giga Shanghai is exceeding 950,000 vehicles per year, and this year, the company has delivered 675,000 cars through the first three quarters. It is also the only plant to manufacture the Model Y L, a longer wheel-based configuration of the all-electric crossover that is exclusive to the Chinese market.

Gigafactory Shanghai’s four million cars have not all stayed within the domestic market, either. For a considerable period, the factory was exporting a significant portion of its monthly production to Europe, helping Gigafactory Berlin supplement some Model Y volume and all of its Model 3 deliveries. This is due to the Berlin plant’s exclusive production plans for the Model 3.

The site is one of the most crucial in the company’s global plans, and Gigafactory Shanghai’s incredible pace, which has led to four million production units in just about six years. It’s fair to say that it won’t be long until we’re seeing Tesla celebrate the plant’s five millionth vehicle produced, which should happen sometime late next year or in early 2027, based on its current manufacturing pace.

The company also builds the Megapack on the property in an adjacent Megafactory.

Advertisement
-->
Continue Reading

News

Tesla gamifies Supercharging with new ‘Charging Passport’

It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.

Published

13 hours ago

on

December 8, 2025

By

Credit: MarcoRP | X

Tesla is gamifying its Supercharging experience by offering a new “Charging Passport,” hoping to add a new layer to the ownership experience.

While it is not part of the Holiday Update, it is rolling out around the same time and offers a handful of cool new features.

Tesla’s Charging Passport will be available within the smartphone app and will give a yearly summary of your charging experience, helping encapsulate your travel for that year.

It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.

Tesla will include the following metrics within the new Charging Passport option within the Tesla app:

  • Charging badges: Iconic charging badges for visiting places like the Tesla Diner, Oasis Supercharger, etc., Explorer Badge, and more
  • Total Unique Superchargers Visited
  • Total Charging Sessions
  • Total Miles Added during Charging Sessions
  • Top Charging Day
  • Longest Trip
  • Favorite Charging Locations

This will give people a unique way to see their travels throughout the year, and although it is not necessarily something that is needed or adds any genuine value, it is something that many owners will like to look back on. After all, things like Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay have been a great way for people to see what music they listened to throughout the year.

This is essentially Tesla’s version of that.

With a handful of unique Superchargers already active, Tesla is also building some new ones, like a UFO-inspired location in New Mexico, near Roswell.

Advertisement
-->

Tesla is building a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country

Continue Reading

News

Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced

“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention.”

Published

15 hours ago

on

December 8, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched its coolest gift idea ever, just a few weeks after it was announced.

Tesla is now giving owners the opportunity to gift Full Self-Driving for one month to friends or family through a new gifting program that was suggested to the company last month.

The program will enable people to send a fellow Tesla owner one month of the company’s semi-autonomous driving software, helping them to experience the Full Self-Driving suite and potentially help Tesla gain them as a subscriber of the program, or even an outright purchase.

Tesla has officially launched the program on its Shop. Sending one month of Full Self-Driving costs $112:

“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention. All sales are final. Can only be purchased and redeemed in the U.S. This gift card is valued at $112.00 and is intended to cover the price of one month of FSD (Supervised), including up to 13% sales tax. It is not guaranteed to cover the full monthly price if pricing or tax rates change. This gift card can be stored in Tesla Wallet and redeemed toward FSD (Supervised) or any other Tesla product or service that accepts gift card payments.”

Tesla has done a great job of expanding Full Self-Driving access over the past few years, especially by offering things like the Subscription program, free trials through referrals, and now this gift card program.

Gifting Full Self-Driving is another iteration of Tesla’s “butts in seats” strategy, which is its belief that it can flip consumers to its vehicles and products by simply letting people experience them.

Advertisement
-->

There is also a reason behind pushing Full Self-Driving so hard, and it has to do with CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package. One tranche requires Musk to achieve a certain number of active paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.

More people who try the suite are likely to pay for it over the long term.

Continue Reading