Where Elon Musk is behind the times
I rarely write explicitly tech pieces. But it strikes me that Elon Musk who, with Jeff Bezos, must be considered a tech giant of the present and future, is behind the times on two fundamental points.
First he is building cars. Like Nader before him, his good intentions are merely elongating the era of the automobile which is in its death throes.
How so?
As the world becomes an extended iteration of cities, cars — like detached housing — will become an unnecessary expense.
That leads me to Elon’s second delay, understandable but definitely behind the times. This is his apparent acceptance of sprawl and detached homes as the continuing cash cow of capitalism.
Like cars, separate dwellings, whether fitted with solar panels or not, are on the way to becoming obsolete. Who will want them once we get wise enough to endow home with attributes I have long noted under the hashtag #cybercommunities ?
Fortunately, Elon knows about scale and is building a contemporary “factory” in Nevada to produce batteries. More pertinently, he has imagined, but relegated to an inferior position, what could be the FOCUS of his endeavors.
It goes by the name of Hyperloop and is now hyped as a way to take a tubular ride at 756 MPH.
Big deal.
Does Elon also see that this elementary pneumatic notion is a global solution to travel? It replaces cars and renders oil unnecessary?
Hyperloop scaled could run between where I live and the Bronx — a ten mile ride — in ten or fifteen minutes. That would render buses, subways, roads and cars MOOT.
I see this as is the WAY of the future. Perhaps Elon sees it and is simply coy. I am sure he knows more than I about everything.
Oh, i forgot to add. Put the hyperloop on the ground.
