Elon Musk’s $52 million bet on the future of transit

This week, Elon Musk is finally opening the inaugural project of his impishly named tunneling startup, The Boring Company.

An underground transit system for the Las Vegas Convention Center that evolved out of Musk's dream of building tunnel networks that could bypass traffic, the "Loop" has become a controversial showpiece in Musk's ever-expanding portfolio of futuristic projects.

Fast Company was on the scene for the tunnel's unveiling to the press in April, where reporters were loaded into Teslas and whisked through slightly claustrophobic tunnels. But with concerns about safety, accessibility, and capacity still outstanding, not to mention questions about how this could possibly be more efficient than a subway, reality seems to be falling short of Musk's promises.

After starting out as a vision for reimagining transportation can Musk's LVCC Loop transcend what's become little more than a $52 million advertisement for Tesla—and for Musk himself? Read more here.

—Katharine Schwab

tech

Elon Musk’s ‘Teslas in tunnels’ are a $52 million bet on the future of transit

Musk is gambling the future of the Boring Company on its debut project in Las Vegas. Could the tunneling startup pave the way for new technological breakthroughs? Or is it more hucksterism from the “master of distraction”?

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This compostable plastic is actually compostable

When it’s no longer needed, the plastic starts eating itself from the inside.

The problem that you come up against with reforestation is the scale—basically, there’s just not enough land on the planet to remove the emissions we need to remove through reforestation alone.”

Jim Mann, Future Forest Founder

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Feeling overwhelmed about life picking up again? Try implementing ‘microsteps’

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Apple just showed us how it could finally bring iMessage to Android

Apple may never bring its messaging service to Google’s mobile OS, but its new FaceTime strategy hints at one way bringing it to Android might become reality.

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We still need conference rooms. Here’s what they should look like post-pandemic

A big table, a bunch of chairs, and a speakerphone are no longer enough. As people return to the office, it’s time to rethink meeting spaces.

branding

I’m a branding expert—and I think most startups spend way too much on branding

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How an ex-Googler turned artist hacked her work to the top of search results

Gretchen Andrew mixes search engine optimization hacks and dream boards into her work, exploring her aspirations while poking fun at Silicon Valley.

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The company behind the wildly popular Always Pan has a new pair of kitchen essentials

Our Place is expanding beyond its versatile, do-it-all Always Pan with new kitchen must-haves: a trio of essential knives and a high-quality cutting board.

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The best new sandals for an adventure-filled summer

Whether you’re planning to hit the trails, the beach, or the pavement this summer, these sporty sandals will keep your soles feeling good.

NEWS

BTS ARMY gets a two-day concert salute from the band: What you need to know

Global K-pop juggernaut BTS, a boy band composed of seven singer-dancer phenoms, is set to perform a dynamic two-day virtual concert June 13-14.

“BTS 2021 Muster Sowoozoo” will see BTS and its powerhouse production company HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment) join forces with VenewLive, an augmented-reality-boosted live music platform.

It will offer fans 4K resolution and multiview, which allows viewers to toggle between different camera angles. Audiences will also be able to congregate in chat rooms.

It’s not the first time BTS has pulled off such a show: The last collaboration of of the three last October broke the Guinness World Record for most viewers of a music concert livestream—993,000 people from 191 countries.

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Elon Musk’s $52 million bet on the future of transit

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