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Elon Musk Unveils Boring Co's First Tunnel
21–30 of 237 posts
Re: Elon Musk Unveils Boring Co's First Tunnel
#22The tone of the article is surprisingly hostile. Maybe I'm just used to Canadian media.
Some journalists have become openly cynical about Musk, probably now that so many promises have failed to materialize.
Re: Elon Musk Unveils Boring Co's First Tunnel
#23Twitter thread on the physics to go 150mph in this tunnel: https://twitter.com/Model_4_/status/1075270290978963458?s=19 Note that air resistance is a much bigger problem in a cheap, narrow tunnel.
I imagine it’ll also probably be hell on tires. You’d need W- or Z-rated tires to do that and those are $$. Perhaps smooth concrete will mean lower rolling friction along with lack of sudden maneouvers. Still, going that fast is expensive in all sorts of ways.
Re: Elon Musk Unveils Boring Co's First Tunnel
#24> "But Musk told reporters that Boring officials have abandoned the concept of the skate, saying it was “far more complex” than his new plan: guide wheels that can be attached to the front tires of autonomous, electric cars, steadying the vehicles as they move forward through tunnels." So basically this only works with Tesla vehicles at the moment. I'm wondering how that's going to expand in the future--if at all. Do…
> Musk played a simulation showing the wheels folding neatly underneath the car’s undercarriage when not in use. Adding them during assembly or after-market would cost $200 to $300, he said, and would not interfere with the vehicle’s normal operation.
Re: Elon Musk Unveils Boring Co's First Tunnel
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another question is why the autonomous vehicles would need guide wheels? Sounds decidedly non-autonomous to me.
It’s for added safety factor at high speeds (150mph).
Huh, TIL Tesla Autopilot only works at speeds below 50 mph. I thought it was mainly for highway driving, but highways are more like 60-100 mph. I assumed it worked at highway speeds. What gives?
Re: Elon Musk Unveils Boring Co's First Tunnel
#26What happens if a car breaks down in the tunnel?
Re: Elon Musk Unveils Boring Co's First Tunnel
#27Twitter thread on the physics to go 150mph in this tunnel: https://twitter.com/Model_4_/status/1075270290978963458?s=19 Note that air resistance is a much bigger problem in a cheap, narrow tunnel.
I imagine it’ll also probably be hell on tires. You’d need W- or Z-rated tires to do that and those are $$. Perhaps smooth concrete will mean lower rolling friction along with lack of sudden maneouvers. Still, going that fast is expensive in all sorts of ways.
And it's best not to think about what happens if a car stops for any reason, or worse, catches fire. I do not believe any escape hatches were part of the demo and cost calculations.
Re: Elon Musk Unveils Boring Co's First Tunnel
#28Is this safe? I didn't see any escape paths. What happens if there is a fire and you are in the sixth tube down?
Electric trains are considered quite safe yet tunnels have a lot of escape paths and service tunnels built parallel to the main one.
Re: Elon Musk Unveils Boring Co's First Tunnel
#29Twitter thread on the physics to go 150mph in this tunnel: https://twitter.com/Model_4_/status/1075270290978963458?s=19 Note that air resistance is a much bigger problem in a cheap, narrow tunnel.
Would the constant movement of cars in the tunnel induce a wind, reducing the pressure differential?
I guess that depends a lot on the density of cars and topology of the tunnels (a simple loop would be ideal, I think).
Re: Elon Musk Unveils Boring Co's First Tunnel
#30Does anyone know the track width? It's more likely to become a global standard if they picked a nice number in meters.