Tesla Motors and Space X founder, Elon Musk talked about his 3 new ideas on how to make life better on Friday's TED Talk in Vancouver. Musk shared his visions of how technology could transform the future.
One of the main things on Musk's mind was auto traffic. He called it soul destroying for people of the world because it takes away so much of one's life. He aims to alleviate congestion on the streets.
He envisions of creating networks of stacked underground tunnels to transport cars on sleds to the destinations while running at speeds of up to 130 miles per hour. Los Angeles is the likely destination for his first test. He hopes the technology would allow a person to travel from Westwood to LAX in 5-6 minutes of the approximate 10-mile journey, Inc. reported.
Musk said it would require tenfold improvement in the cost of per-mile tunneling. He believes this can be achieved with lighter regulations, design improvements and better energy efficiency.
Time reported, Chris Anderson, TED Talk moderator then asked Musk if he didn't opt for flying cars instead. Musk said that the vision of flying cars would leave out the fact that there would be tons of noise and anxiety induced for anyone left on the ground while these cars are hovering.
Musk said one reason tunnels are needed is because there are likely to be even more cars on the road as there are now. He believes auto ownership will evolve and become obsolete.
By the end of the year Musk said Tesla will have a vehicle that will be able to drive from California to New York without having to touch the controls. In two years, he believes one will be able to take a nap the whole way.
Musk also has a vision for harnessing solar power that goes far beyond today's solar panels. He envisions a silicon panel that he called, solar glass roof, to pay over the lifetime of the home's ownership. He predicted that in five decades that all new homes will have them.
Another interesting subject that came up was about his relationship with Trump. He continues to accept invitations to meet to argue for immigration and climate change reform.
