We were already talking about it in 2017 among the craziest projects wanted by Elon Musk. In order to relieve traffic congestion, the billionaire then put forward that of the anti-traffic tunnels built by The Boring Company. The goal ? Thanks to a network of underground tunnels, motorists can use them and put their cars on automatic platforms fitted with wheels or board small shuttles located on the surface.
Five years later, The Boring Company was present at CES in Las Vegas, emphasizes Numerama and wanted to take a full-scale test with their new network. Except that not everything went as planned. And for good reason, many journalists invited to take these tunnels in Tesla, driven by professionals, found themselves … in traffic jams. According to our colleagues, many videos show the tunnels saturated when passengers have to get out of the vehicle.
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Still work
However, this is what Elon Musk promises: to get from one point to another, without traffic jams, by taking platforms and leaving with his vehicle without having practically stopped. In the many cases seen at CES in Las Vegas, the wait was created by passengers taking longer than expected to get out of the vehicle. The lack of space in the parking areas then congested the traffic.
It turns out the congestion-busting “future of transport” is already experiencing congestion. pic.twitter.com/yJY9b0Nwjj
– Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) January 6, 2022
Another pitfall, note Numeramathe narrowness of the tunnels offered by The Boring Company. Another reason why only professional drivers drove for this test. Indeed, the width of the tunnel is hardly greater than the car, not to mention the height which must leave a maximum of one meter above the roof. Las Vegas would however like to extend this network of anti-traffic tunnels. No doubt that at less than 10 km / h, and with already so many traffic jams, the authorities should think twice.