0 Comments Elon Musk updated his vision for the Boring Company today with the unveiling of its first test tunnel in Los Angeles. They abandoned their “electric skate” plan and replaced it with autonomous electric vehicles, starting with Tesla vehicles, using ‘tracking wheels’. There are two main parts to the Boring Company and its mission to reduce traffic in metropolitan areas: improving the technology of boring tunnels and developing a fully-electric and autonomous transport system that works well inside those tunnels. The biggest announcement today has to do with the transportation system. Advertisement - scroll for more content Previously, the company had been talking about building “electric skates” on which vehicles could park and be transported through the tunnel. Additionally, they had planned to do “electric pods” for public transportation. Today, Musk announced that they are dropping both of those ideas in favor of a system of “tracking wheels”, which can be installed as an attachment to vehicles. They deploy from underneath the vehicle to act as a guide to keep the car from hitting the side of the tunnel. In a press briefing ahead of the event tonight, Musk said the system could be added to a vehicle during the configuration for “$200 to $300.” He also said that it could be installed as an aftermarket product. Musk even said that it could be installed on vehicles other than Tesla’s, though they are using the Model X: “We used Tesla vehicles because I run Tesla. What I am going to do? Use someone else’s car?” Though, there are several restrictions for a vehicle to be used in the Boring Company’s tunnels that it basically makes Tesla vehicles the only eligible ones at this point. They need to be electric, be able to maintain a speed of ~150 mph, and have some autonomous capabilities (at least be able to accelerate and brake autonomously). The Boring Company had Model X SUVs to give test rides to the press, but they weren’t equipped with the final design of the tracking wheels. They weren’t retractable, which makes them impractical on the road but they did their job in the tunnel. Boring Company Model X Ride The company did give us a demonstration ride in a Model X with ‘tracking wheels’ inside the tunnel. While the wheels basically convert the Model X into a train, it was a surprisingly bumpy ride, which the company attributed to some experimentation with the “shelves” on each side of the tunnel. The Model X drives on those shelves, which consist of concrete sections placed on each side to support the vehicle: They are still experimenting on how to produce and install those concrete sections as fast as possible. They clearly haven’t quite figured it out yet because some of the sections were clearly resulting in a lot bumpier ride than others. Musk insisted that it will be an easy fix and once it is done, it will be “as smooth as glass.” Tunnel Boring