MUSK TO OFFER DAY OF FREE RIDES IN UNDERGROUND L.A.-AREA TUNNEL
HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Elon Musk is planning to offer the public free rides through a tunnel he bored under a Los Angeles suburb to test a new type of transportation system.
In a series of tweets Sunday, Musk said the tunnel is almost complete and there will be an opening event on the night of Dec. 10 and free rides for the public the next day.
The tunnel runs about 2 miles under the streets of Hawthorne, where Musk’s SpaceX headquarters is located.
Musk has described a system in which vehicles or people pods are moved on electrically powered platforms called skates at speeds up to 155 mph.
Musk’s company The Boring Co. has been enlisted by the city of Chicago to build an underground express route from Block 37 downtown to O’Hare Airport. Electric pods would whisk travelers to the airport in 12 minutes at speeds over 100 mph. The tech visionary, who co-founded PayPal and is the co-founder and CEO of electric carmaker Tesla, vows to finish the Chicago project within three years.
The Chicago project is to be funded with $1 billion in private capital. Musk said in Chicago in June that he doesn’t see “too much trouble” raising that amount. Riders would pay $20 to $25 to cover daily operating costs.
Musk also wants to build a tunnel across western Los Angeles and another between a Metro subway line and Dodger Stadium.