4 ms·

How long before the Tesla bus?

ForHackernews 8y ago
Elon Musk hates public transit, so Tesla will probably never make a bus. https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-awkward-dislike-mass-transit/ https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-awkward-dislike-mass-t...
- vinceguidry 8y ago
  The article doesn't make it seem like his distaste was irrational, so I doubt he'd leave easy money on the table if an opportunity is spotted.
- maym86 8y ago
  > “It’s a pain in the ass,” he continued. “That’s why everyone doesn’t like it. And there’s like a bunch of random strangers, one of who might be a serial killer, OK, great. This just sounds incredibly entitled and out of touch. People are grateful for public transportation despite it's inperfections because it's much better than not having it at all.
  - TomMarius 8y ago
    I don't think he ever said that it's worse than nothing.
    - maym86 8y ago
      If the alternative is the solution that he has, than yes he is saying it worse than nothing. Right now he has nothing implemented. He is comparing it to an imaginary system that doesn't exist (nothing) and saying it's worse. A billionaire saying systems that many people use and are happy with are bad while not actually using them himself and not actually having a viable afordable alternative is completly obnoxious. Come back and compain about buses Elon when you have actually built a reliable alternative people can use.
  - thebradbain 8y ago
    I also don't understand the American idea that "only people who have no other option take public transit." I could easily afford a car – I had a pretty nice car that I ended up selling because I never used it – but I enjoy taking public transit, because I hate traffic, finding parking, etc. If I can currently get along fine without a car in Los Angeles, then maybe, with some more investment around the country, other people would willingly ditch their cars, too.
    - maym86 8y ago
      Me too. Most issues people have with public transit aren't with the concept of buses and trains but the lack of investment in making the system as good as it could be. We don't need a new way of doing it we just need to invest in it.
- greglindahl 8y ago
  The Boring Company plan for Chicago to have "skates" based on the Model X chassis that carry 8-16 people. https://www.boringcompany.com/chicago/ https://www.boringcompany.com/chicago/
  - ForHackernews 8y ago
    Yeah, I'd wager a fair amount of money that whole Chicago bid is vapourware.
  - JTbane 8y ago
    Seems like a really stupid idea when you consider the already mature tech for getting people through tubes- light rail.
    - greglindahl 8y ago
      This is a kind of light rail. The main difference is the smallish size and high speeds. It'll be interesting to see how it works out.
      - JTbane 8y ago
        Musk's loop is not on rails though- it's some kind of guideway transit. Personal rapid transit has been tried before and can face capacity problems when compared to light rail.
        greglindahl 8y ago
        A little googling says that there are a lot of guideway systems called "light rail". Are guideways somehow immature compared to actual rail systems? I've ridden on a ton of each in airports, they seemed to work the same from an end-user perspective.
martythemaniak 8y ago
Their "master plan" is for people to rent out their cars through a full-autonomy based ride sharing network. If they can do it, you're probably looking around $0.25/km end-user price, which is pretty competitive with public transit.
- ufo 8y ago
  There is no way individual transportation will ever be as efficient as public transportation in an urban setting. If their math says that autonomous vehicles will be cheaper than buses then it must be ignoring that autonomous buses will also be cheaper and more efficient than they are now.
  - wyldfire 8y ago
    Yes but there will still likely be a market willing to pay the near-2018-public-transit price for a private ride in 2028 -- even if that represents a premium over 2028 public transit rates.

Elon Musk hates public transit, so Tesla will probably never make a bus. https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-awkward-dislike-mass-transit/ https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-awkward-dislike-mass-t...

vinceguidry 8y ago
The article doesn't make it seem like his distaste was irrational, so I doubt he'd leave easy money on the table if an opportunity is spotted.
maym86 8y ago
> “It’s a pain in the ass,” he continued. “That’s why everyone doesn’t like it. And there’s like a bunch of random strangers, one of who might be a serial killer, OK, great. This just sounds incredibly entitled and out of touch. People are grateful for public transportation despite it's inperfections because it's much better than not having it at all.
- TomMarius 8y ago
  I don't think he ever said that it's worse than nothing.
  - maym86 8y ago
    If the alternative is the solution that he has, than yes he is saying it worse than nothing. Right now he has nothing implemented. He is comparing it to an imaginary system that doesn't exist (nothing) and saying it's worse. A billionaire saying systems that many people use and are happy with are bad while not actually using them himself and not actually having a viable afordable alternative is completly obnoxious. Come back and compain about buses Elon when you have actually built a reliable alternative people can use.
- thebradbain 8y ago
  I also don't understand the American idea that "only people who have no other option take public transit." I could easily afford a car – I had a pretty nice car that I ended up selling because I never used it – but I enjoy taking public transit, because I hate traffic, finding parking, etc. If I can currently get along fine without a car in Los Angeles, then maybe, with some more investment around the country, other people would willingly ditch their cars, too.
  - maym86 8y ago
    Me too. Most issues people have with public transit aren't with the concept of buses and trains but the lack of investment in making the system as good as it could be. We don't need a new way of doing it we just need to invest in it.
greglindahl 8y ago
The Boring Company plan for Chicago to have "skates" based on the Model X chassis that carry 8-16 people. https://www.boringcompany.com/chicago/ https://www.boringcompany.com/chicago/
- ForHackernews 8y ago
  Yeah, I'd wager a fair amount of money that whole Chicago bid is vapourware.
- JTbane 8y ago
  Seems like a really stupid idea when you consider the already mature tech for getting people through tubes- light rail.
  - greglindahl 8y ago
    This is a kind of light rail. The main difference is the smallish size and high speeds. It'll be interesting to see how it works out.
    - JTbane 8y ago
      Musk's loop is not on rails though- it's some kind of guideway transit. Personal rapid transit has been tried before and can face capacity problems when compared to light rail.
      - greglindahl 8y ago
        A little googling says that there are a lot of guideway systems called "light rail". Are guideways somehow immature compared to actual rail systems? I've ridden on a ton of each in airports, they seemed to work the same from an end-user perspective.

martythemaniak 8y ago

Their "master plan" is for people to rent out their cars through a full-autonomy based ride sharing network. If they can do it, you're probably looking around $0.25/km end-user price, which is pretty competitive with public transit.

ufo 8y ago
There is no way individual transportation will ever be as efficient as public transportation in an urban setting. If their math says that autonomous vehicles will be cheaper than buses then it must be ignoring that autonomous buses will also be cheaper and more efficient than they are now.
- wyldfire 8y ago
  Yes but there will still likely be a market willing to pay the near-2018-public-transit price for a private ride in 2028 -- even if that represents a premium over 2028 public transit rates.