Two heads might be better than one, but what about two futuristic transportation technologies? Elon Musk seems to think so.
This morning, May 16, the tech luminary took to his favorite communication platform (Twitter) to announce plans to combine SpaceX's BFR (Big F*cking Falcon Rocket) with The Boring Company's underground hyperloop.
The result? A transportation system that could take you practically anywhere in the world in roughly an hour.
SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell recently had a conversation with TED curator Chris Anderson during which she provided an update on SpaceX's BFR Earth-to-Earth transportation plan, which Musk unveiled in September.
According to Shotwell, the first BFR will seat about 100 passengers and will be capable of completing a dozen trips per day. A ticket from New York City to Shanghai will cost roughly $2,000, she expects.
"This is definitely going to happen," she told Anderson, noting that it should be ready in about 10 years in "Gwynne time" ("I'm sure Elon will want us to go faster").
After TED Talks tweeted a quote from Shotwell's conversation, Musk replied with his own bit of news: The Boring Company's underground hyperloop would play a role in quickly getting people to the BFR launch ports.
Boring Company Hyperloop will take you from city center under ground & ocean to spaceport in 10 to 15 mins https://t.co/VhpfhgdXSd
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 16, 2018
So, it'll take 30 to 40 minutes to ride a BFR from one side of the globe to the other, according to Shotwell. And Musk promises a 15-minute trek from downtown to the launch site via underground hyperloop.
That leaves travelers with a system that gets you anywhere you want to go in less time than it takes to watch an episode of Black Mirror (assuming you live in a city with a Hyperloop depot).
Musk later tweeted that he plans to livestream a presentation/Q&A regarding the Boring Company's plans in Los Angeles tomorrow, May 17, at 7pm (presumably PT). Perhaps he'll share more details on this marriage between his two companies — like if LA will be the first city to get one of those spaceports.
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