Talks to Watch

Elon Musk's "Loop" - It's bad, folks

921K views · Jan 19, 2019 · 40:06 · 0 HN recommenders · 9 mentions · discussed 2019–2023

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.

Why Hacker News points people here: HN uses it as the go-to rebuttal when Musk's transportation proposals come up, though it is mostly cited by skeptics.

“he gives some realistic criticism if you can get past the jokes”HN comment, 2020

What Hacker News said 9

Cites itdisk0Aug 2020
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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

CriticaleroppleJan 2019

“he's shot this one full of holes already. You should watch it if you're curious.”

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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

in “Boeing’s Flying Car Has Taken Off” · view on HN
CriticalsharphFeb 2019

“I can't recommend enough this recent video by youtuber donoteat01”

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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

in “The IPO of Virgin Trains U.S.A.” · view on HN
CriticalWilliamEdwardJan 2020

“Here is an analysis of why Musk's tunnels are ridiculous.”

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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.

in “The Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnel is nearly 50% done” · view on HN
CriticalsudosysgenAug 2020

“This video has most of the points about why the Hyperloop is a ridiculous idea that will never work.”

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this video This video has most of the points about why the Hyperloop is a ridiculous idea that will never work.

CriticalatharrisOct 2020

“a somewhat humorous review of his claims / what's wrong with them”

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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

in “The self-driving car is a red herring” · view on HN
CriticalpostingpalsNov 2020

“he gives some realistic criticism if you can get past the jokes”

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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)

in “Virgin Hyperloop Has Invented the World's Crappiest High-Speed Rail” · view on HN
CriticalAvshalomAug 2021

“Increased capacity is completely useless if you can't get cars in and out.”

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That's what this video focuses on primarily. Increased capacity is completely useless if you can't get cars in and out. and you can't.

in “Tunnels are our Transportation Future” · view on HN
CriticallittleladyOct 2023

“grab some popcorn and enjoy”

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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.

in “The Evolution of Tunnel Boring Machines” · view on HN