Cited on HN 9 times, 2019–2023, never outright recommendedscore 0
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN uses it as the go-to rebuttal when Musk's transportation proposals come up, though it is mostly cited by skeptics.
A long, sarcastic critique of Elon Musk's Loop tunnel transit idea and related Boring Company and Hyperloop claims. It leans on transit-planning arguments about capacity and throughput.
“he gives some realistic criticism if you can get past the jokes” (HN, 2020)
first time I heard that term was in donoteat01's video on the loop[0], haven't got around to reading that post till now though (thanks for the reminder) [0] Elon Musk's "Loop" - It's bad, folks [this video]
Not a single car, but a lot fewer than Elon wants you to believe. We already know that the baseline technology being proposed works. Guided buses have been in use for a long time now. But there's a reason it's used with buses , not individual cars . And it's for a pretty simple reason: the loading process into the tunnels can't be fast. Much hay is being made about minimal surface disruption, but elevators are slow . As is driving into a guide tray that moves the car along. donoteat01 does pretty fantastic video work about a number of urban planning topics and he's shot this one full of holes already. You should watch it if you're curious. [this video]
I can't recommend enough this recent video by youtuber donoteat01, which goes into depth about (everything wrong with) Elon Musk's underground highway system, and then about privately funded "public transportation," including train projects like this, in general. [this video] "Be suspicious of privately owned or funded 'public transportation' projects" is at 23:20
[this video] Here is an analysis of why Musk's tunnels are ridiculous. I used to believe in them too, so you can trust that this completely changed my opinion. Facts are more important than magic, people.
It's been stated elsewhere in this thread, but there really are a lot of practical, well-understood engineering issues with Elon's proposals that he refuses to admit or deal with. Here's a somewhat humorous review of his claims / what's wrong with them and how they stack up to actual civil engineering projects: [this video]
[this video] I like this video too. This guy seems to be an urban planner or civil engineer, and he gives some realistic criticism if you can get past the jokes (which are also good)
I know it's a big ask to send you a 40 min youtube video, but grab some popcorn and enjoy: [this video] TL;DW No. Tunnels are hard to rapidly dig (esp. in the US where property rights exist underground), they require safety elements like proper ventilation, and they are still subject to congestion at the destination exits.
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