Elon Musk Says His Boring Company Could Dig The $20 Trillion Tunnel Connecting America With Europe For '1000X Less Money

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Elon Musk is back with another bold claim. This time, he says The Boring Company could build the long-discussed trans-Atlantic tunnel for “1000X less money” than the staggering $20 trillion price tag being floated around. But before you start dreaming of zooming from New York to London in under an hour, let's unpack what's really going on here.

A $20 Trillion Dream With No Plans in Sight

The idea of a tunnel connecting America and Europe is not new – it's been around for decades. But it's always been more science fiction than reality. According to Newsweek and other outlets, the price tag alone makes it almost impossible, with estimates reaching $20 trillion. That's almost the entire GDP of the United States!

Despite some flashy headlines, no plans exist to build this tunnel. Governments haven't approved it, no budgets have been allocated and no construction companies have been hired. In short, it's just a concept. Musk's claim to do it for a fraction of the cost adds to the spectacle, but he isn't even breaking ground on it anytime soon.

Link to tweet

From Vision to Flop

Musk’s comment also ties into his promotion of hyperloop technology, which uses vacuum-sealed tubes to propel trains at incredible speeds. In 2013, Musk popularized the idea with a white paper that excited people about futuristic travel. But more than a decade later, hyperloop has been anything but groundbreaking.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-says-boring-company-170017930.html

Both Musk and the people who came up with this idea are idiots in my opinion.

For starters, you have problems with water pressure at that depth (remember the ocean gate sub). You'd be crossing the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which separates the North American and European plates. This is an area of high seismic and volcanic activity. In addition breathable atmosphere would have to be provided.

I think I'd rather fly between the two continents.

[dalton99a]

1. Musk can also bore a tunnel to Mars for cheap

[FSogol]

2. Now he just needs to get Trumpy to announce it will be open in the 1st hundred days! Just after the price of eggs drops.

[haele]

3. I'm waiting for teleportation portals instead, thanks...

Or maybe those Futurama tubes for city pedestrian travel from point A to B.
I think both are more probable to be a successful and survivable than an "under the Atlantic" vacuum tube for Tesla products.

[rampartd]

4. isn't there a mid atlantic ridge?

volcanos and such?

i sure don't want to be 1000 miles from either end when it springs a leak

even using greenland as a terminal ...............

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

5. Yes I mentioned it

Both Iceland and the Azores are part of it. Both have active volcanos.

[Redleg]

6. I could not imagine driving that distance in a tunnel

I would freak the f@ck out after a few miles.

[rampartd]

8. self driving teslas only

[Redleg]

10. That is even more horrifying

LOL

[Basso8vb]

7. I'm tired of that little prick.

[Lovie777]

9. Hurricanes.......

they also affect the oceans underneath.

[Srkdqltr]

11. I think he should do it. Why not?

[Javaman]

12. and this is try to prevent what or dodge something or hide something?

just like the supposed Vegas tunnel was supposed to happen, it really was to derail the California high speed rail line.

he is a piece of fascist shit.

[Lemons UK]

13. Never bet against Elon when it comes to the unthinkable.

[bluestarone]

22. Yea right. (i say BULLSHIT)

You can be the first to go through it.

[jmowreader]

14. Reminds me of a very old joke

When they were preparing to award the contract to bore the Channel Tunnel - which connects England and France - they got four bids and were prepared to pay in British Pounds.

The first bidder was a German company. "We will do the job for 5 billion Pounds Sterling." When asked to justify their bid, they said "we have the finest boring technology in the world and can complete the job in eighteen months."

The second bidder was a Japanese company, who said "We will do the job for 6 billion Pounds Sterling. Our advanced tunneling systems can do the job without disturbing any sea life living on the Channel floor."

The third bidder was a French company, who said, "We will do the job for 7 billion Pounds Sterling, and unlike our German and French competitors we can bring the job in under budget; there's no way they can do this job for the money they're asking."

The fourth bidder was two guys from Idaho who showed up carrying shovels. "We can do this job for $29.95 in genuine US currency and all the beer we can drink." When asked how, one of them said, "John and I will go to Europe. John will go to England and me to France. We'll start digging into the ground toward the other country, and when we meet in the middle...you've got your tunnel."

"What happens if you never meet in the middle?"

"Then you'll have two tunnels."

[flvegan]

15. Wait...NY to London in under an hour? The g forces

from the acceleration to what, 3500 mph, surely nobody could possibly survive that.

[Disaffected]

21. That isn't a problem however.

Assume accelerating to the 3,500 m/h in 10 minutes. 3,500 m/h = 5,133 ft/sec.

Acceleration = 5,133 ft/sec / 600 seconds / 32.2 (1 G) = 0.27 G

Astronauts undergo much higher acceleration (around 6 G?) without issue.

A bigger issue is his insane contention that such a tunnel could be built for $20 billion (or if at all).

[2naSalit]

16. Stoopid idea.

[Emrys]

17. Is it a slow news week on Yahoo! or something?

This hot news that Musk is full of BS is based on a tweet from early December that was discussed on DU at the time:

Musk weighs in on plan for $20 trillion tunnel linking New York to London - https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219827094

I say "discussed", in fact it was given a good old DU/FU chewing over. Which seems to be more of a feasibility study than official channels have ever seriously carried out.

At that point last month it was framed as "an underground rail tunnel all the way from London to New York". A swift consultation of a map would show that London's on the east side of the UK, complicating matters somewhat for any landfall UK-side. An even swifter consultation of public opinion would show that nobody except Musk and some bored hacks are even giving the crackpot idea a second thought.

[Initech]

18. I'm going to say that's not happening and I wouldn't trust him on anything.

[maxsolomon]

19. 20 trillion/1000 is 20 billion.

What a load of crap.

[sakabatou]

20. Ahahahah! Oh wait, he's serious. Let me laugh even harder. AHAHAHAHAHAH!

Shall we remind people that he has yet to ever build the hyperloop?

[hatrack]

23. Who. Fucking. Cares. What. This. Asshole. Says.

Just a few more bumps of ketamine, and what will this week's amazing promises be?

Talking llamas!!!!

Gravity-Free Thursdays!!!

Brogaine - it doesn't just regrow hair, it turns you into a popular podcaster with lots of girlfriends!!!

Delicious new forms of bacon, whipped cream and snickerdoodles - you can eat all you want and never gain weight!!!

Swarms of bees that will sky-write your text messages!!!

Perpetual motion!!!