Elon Musk said rides on the 150 mph Loop transit system could cost $1
- Elon Musk said rides on the high-speed Loop transit system could cost as little as $1 during an event on Thursday.
- Musk said a Loop system could take passengers from downtown Los Angeles to Los Angeles International Airport in eight minutes.
- According to Musk, Loop pods will hold 16 people and travel at 150 mph.
Elon Musk said rides on the high-speed Loop transit system could cost as little as $1 during an event on Thursday.
During the event, held in a Los Angeles suburb, Musk and employees from his tunnel-digging company, The Boring Company, discussed the company's progress and answered questions.
Musk and The Boring Company had previously said the company's tunnels could be used for the high-speed Hyperloop and Loop transit systems. On Thursday, Musk offered more details about how a Loop system in Los Angeles could work. Musk said a Loop system could take passengers from downtown Los Angeles to Los Angeles International Airport in eight minutes. He also said rides could cost as little as $1.
Hyperloop, first proposed by Musk in a 2013 white paper, would carry passengers in pods at speeds of over 600 mph. Loop resembles Hyperloop but would be used for shorter distances that require slower speeds. Musk said Loop pods would hold 16 people and travel at 150 mph. He also said a Loop system could be accessed by dozens of small stations that would transport passengers underground and take up as much space as a parking spot.
Before Thursday's event, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said it would allow The Boring Company to build a test tunnel under one of the busiest roads in Los Angeles, Sepulveda Boulevard. The tunnel will be nearly three miles long.
Musk founded The Boring Company in 2016. The company has proposed building tunnels in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington, DC, and had previously received approval to dig a two-mile test tunnel in Hawthorne, California, dig a 10.3-mile tunnel beneath Baltimore, and begin preliminary work in Washington, DC.
On Friday, Musk posted a video of the Hawthorne tunnel on Instagram and wrote that it was "almost done." He also wrote that The Boring Company would give the public free rides through the tunnel in the coming months, pending approval from regulators.
In March, Musk said the company's tunnels would prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over cars. He added that the company's tunnel networks would also transport cars, "but only after all personalized mass transit needs are met."