Boring Co highlights tunnel safety, guide wheel tech [Video]

The guide wheel system is said to cost only a few hundred dollars per unit.

Boring Co has posted the full video from its Hawthorne Test Tunnel launch event, along with a shorter video showing a Model X traveling through the tube.

The company made a surprising change to its original plan, eschewing an autonomous electric 'skate' platform in favor of a simple guide-wheel system that allows an autonomous electric vehicle to travel under its own power. The horizontal-oriented wheels keep the vehicle centered in the relatively small tunnel.

Answering follow-up questions on Twitter, Elon Musk clarifies that the guides are just a wheel, shock absorber and solenoid that "costs a few hundred dollars" in volume production.

The startup has promised the system will be compatible with any autonomous EV, though Musk now admits that an alignment system that does not require a vehicle-specific attachment may be a better option.

"Passive lateral safety is required by regulators & I think they're right," he says. "Might be able to build this into the tunnel wall though. So long as the vehicle is prevented by physics from rolling or jackknifing, there is probably a good safety argument."

Tesla's own Autopilot tech is claimed to be capable of keeping the vehicle centered without the guide wheels, which serve a purpose "only if there is a complete system failure." Musk also suggests turns will be banked in the future, presumably to help keep riders comfortable when traversing at the design speed of 150+ mph.

For now, the simplified setup allows Boring Co to engage the public and potentially clear away some red tape as the company moves forward with plans to dig official transport systems in the Los Angeles area and Chicago.