Elon Musk is really boring: Hole in SpaceX parking lot is start of a vast underground network - Polidicks

[QUOTE=lNloruzenchi;51831731]Seems no one's said of it already, but how is he going to deal with the existing infrastructure (ie building foundations), and earthquake protection? Unfortunately the world isn't exactly Minecraft.[/QUOTE] From what I understand, he can dig wherever he wants as long as it's on private property. For going under public property he'll need permits. Basically it seems like he's restricted to the SpaceX HQ lot for now. [editline]16th February 2017[/editline] Looking on google maps to figure out where the hole might be, I can't for the life of me find a parking lot on the site that fits that size. The closest one I can find is across the street next to the parking garage. I'm not sure what his plans might be for the path of this thing.

Why not start it at the parking lot That means that his new roads will lead to his company

[QUOTE=OvB;51831750]From what I understand, he can dig wherever he wants as long as it's on private property. For going under public property he'll need permits. Basically it seems like he's restricted to the SpaceX HQ lot for now. [editline]16th February 2017[/editline] Looking on google maps to figure out where the hole might be, I can't for the life of me find a parking lot on the site that fits that size. The closest one I can find is across the street next to the parking garage. I'm not sure what his plans might be for the path of this thing.[/QUOTE] The problem is going to be destabilizing the existing structures. Think of it like a Jenga tower but 70% of the blocks are made of mud and rocks.

[QUOTE=Morgen;51830991]Make it only available to EVs :smug:[/QUOTE] Oh man, that would be something. Get an EV or be stuck in traffic

[QUOTE=Karmah;51831939]Why not start it at the parking lot That means that his new roads will lead to his company[/QUOTE] "All roads lead to [del]Rome[/del]SpaceX"

[QUOTE=OvB;51831750]From what I understand, he can dig wherever he wants as long as it's on private property. For going under public property he'll need permits. Basically it seems like he's restricted to the SpaceX HQ lot for now. [editline]16th February 2017[/editline] Looking on google maps to figure out where the hole might be, I can't for the life of me find a parking lot on the site that fits that size. The closest one I can find is across the street next to the parking garage. I'm not sure what his plans might be for the path of this thing.[/QUOTE] [t]https://s24.postimg.org/nsvq83axx/spacex.jpg[/t] My best guess. Same street lights, the only difference is the parking lot marking lines are a bit different. You can see the canal is full at the time of the picture on the right. The compressed depth of the image suggests it was taken with a long telephoto from the high positions offered from the parking garage to the south of the parking lot.

[QUOTE=Dysgalt;51831234]Last time I was in LA I saw a guy puke/shit/piss himself simultaneously while on public transit there, kinda put me off from it.[/QUOTE] Trains/metrolink isn't bad but i would never get on a bus in LA, not to mention its full of private drivers. If you ain't got a car in LA you a poor sucker. This idea amazing but i dunno if LA is the right city to start.

See, that's the problem with all other companies: They're not boring enough.

Truly this man is the visionary who will push us into the depths of space, while also solving all of our problems domestically and also [media]https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/832084402473627650[/media]

Tunneling is a bitch, Seattle is installing a shitload of transit tunnels now while we expand our light rail network. Tunneling and setting up these systems takes decades, and while they're great to have once in-place, we really need to do more about traffic issues since these things take so much time. Speeding up tunneling is great, pls Elon pls (although, to be fair, Seattle is very challenging when it comes to infrastructure...)

[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;51831342]What's the viability of digging down to bedrock and make that for the foundation for the tunnel?[/QUOTE] Not very viable. In ex-USSR metro networks a tunnel for [b]electric trains[/b] requires a ventilation shaft every ~400-500 meters at most. These ventilation shafts are pretty big and have powerful ventilators actually circulating air. A deep tunnel therefore requires you to build a ton of vertical ventilation shafts, each of which is still dug through the soft soil and other nasties that you were trying to avoid in the first place. Shallow tunnels require same intensity of ventilation, but it's easier to achieve. Also very deep stations mean long way to reach the top, it's impractical from economic considerations (doesn't matter what objects go up and down, escalators/elevators/etc will be long and boring, wasting everyones time and electricity).

[QUOTE=BlackPhoenix;51831211]Digging tunnels is [B]really[/B] hard. Sadly it's not as simple as removing the ground under the city and installing the tubing elements to reinforce this pipe. Soil acts as a very viscous liquid, so all of the underground stuff "floats" around. Sometimes the tunnelers can meet soil that simply doesn't permit a tunnel or disruption of which may cause sinkholes elsewhere (due to change in how water is displaced). Would be interesting to see what this company comes up with that hasn't been covered by existing TBM's and companies.[/QUOTE] Can confirm. They have been trying to build a new tram station underground in Amsterdam it seriously took about 5 years to complete just a few hundred meters of digging. There is 24/7 monitoring going on and all bells and alarms would go off if something would sink even half a centimeter. Part of the reason is also funding since it is in reality a sinkhole but in terms of money it is also a sinkhole

[QUOTE=paindoc;51832796]although, to be fair, Seattle is very challenging when it comes to infrastructure...[/QUOTE] I can't see LA, considering it lies on a pretty huge fault line, being any better to work with.

Imagine if other CEO's spent as much money back into the economy / our infrastructure as elon

I didn't realise that I'd come to regret a tweet. [img]http://i.imgur.com/a1eGgq6.png[/img]