Boring Company chose to build, operate O'Hare express dubbed Tesla-in-a-tunnel - Sensationalist Headlines

Would you pay up to $25 for a 12-minute ride from downtown’s Block 37 to O’Hare Airport aboard an electric vehicle seating 16 — dubbed “Tesla-in-a-tunnel” — racing underground at speeds well over 100 m.p.h.? Maybe, just maybe, you’ll get that chance. The Boring Company, owned by visionary billionaire Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX fame, has been chosen to build and operate an elusive high-speed rail line between downtown and an expanding O’Hare. “We have a person in Elon Musk who started an electric car company from nothing and started a space company from nothing and he has proven that he doesn’t like to fail,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who shares that “failure-is-not-an-option” trait with Musk. “Here’s a guy in two different other transportation modes who has taken huge risks — not only economic, [but] reputational. We’re gonna bet on those two things and that track record in this next step with no money and all upside. … That’s a pretty good pay-off for us, vs. zero dollars from the public.” ... Emanuel has ruled out even a penny of taxpayer support and demanded that the system be bankrolled exclusively by project revenues — including fares and advertising — while also demanding that fares remain below the cost of an Uber, Lyft or cab ride to O’Hare. Musk’s tunneling company has vowed to do even better than that, using a slower version of the “Hyper-Loop” technology is hopes to use to travel between Washington D.C. and New York in 29 minutes. The Boring Company’s goal is a one-way fare in the $20-to-$25-range, maybe less. That’s half the cost of a cab or ride-share. And while it can take about 40 minutes to ride the Blue Line from the Clark/Lake station to O’Hare, the Tesla-like “electric skate vehicles” would travel at speeds that could reach 150 mph — though slower along curves — to get you there in 12 minutes. The system would include 80 to 100 electric cars departing from Block 37 and O’Hare “as frequently as every 30 seconds” during rush-periods, Rivkin said. Elon Musk chosen to build, operate O'Hare express dubbed 'Tesla

Interesting idea. The drive to ORD from downtown is really awful ATM and I'd be willing to try this out for sure. Good to hear they're not publicly funding it either; the city has enough budget problems as it is.

If he pulls it off, awesome.

https://youtu.be/y6G2TUYe3eg

Should've named it "Tesla-In-Tunnel-System". Right in line with the Tesla S3X line.

So... Why not just build a subway instead?

I think the idea is to expand it over time, and eventually into a hyperloop rather than just a loop.

And while it can take about 40 minutes to ride the Blue Line from the Clark/Lake station to O’Hare, the Tesla-like “electric skate vehicles” would travel at speeds that could reach 150 mph — though slower along curves — to get you there in 12 minutes.

Trains can go faster than this. I don't see the point of using cars really.

so... why not build a fast subway?

Nobody probably offered to build one, meeting the criteria set out by the city.

I was pointing out that there actually is a subway, since your original post seemed to imply there wasn't. But yeah, since Emanuel wanted it to be entirely privately funded, there weren't as many offers. A high speed rail system could probably work too, but I'd be interested to see how this turns out.

Considering Musk's other ventures rate of improvement, I expect you will see it rapidly evolving.

People are still on about hyperloop? Why

A lot of companies are working quite heavily on it. It seems like it will be quite popular once developed.