Elon Musk has announced plans to build a medieval watchtower made entirely with ‘lifesize LEGO-like bricks’ made from dirt dug from underground tunnels.
The billionaire’s Boring Company uses massive machines to dig tunnels capable of supporting high-speed transit systems under cities.
Extracted materials leftover from the projects will be used to construct the strange sounding observation post at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
The Boring Company plans to start selling the recycled bricks in two months although it’s not yet clear where they will be available.
Elon Musk has announced plans to build a medieval watchtower made entirely with ‘lifesize LEGO-like bricks’ made from dirt dug from underground tunnels. The billionaire was recently seen smoking a joint during a podcast, perhaps leading to his latest inspiration
Musk made the announcement via Twitter, where he also confirmed that Boring Company bricks will be handed out for free when used for affordable housing construction projects.
Writing on Twitter, the billionaire said: ‘About to finish first TBC HQ building made with Boring Bricks in the shape of a medieval watchtower.
‘First Boring Brick store opening in ~two months. Only 10 cents a brick! Rated for California seismic loads.
‘Bricks will be free if used for affordable housing projects.’
Musk’s Boring Company uses massive machines to dig tunnels that can support high-speed transit systems under cities. Extracted materials leftover from the projects will be used to construct the strange sounding observation post at the firm’s headquarters in California. Pictured is LEGO Group chairman Jorgen Vig Knudstorp with some novelty-sized bricks
Musk made the announcement via Twitter, where he also confirmed that the bricks will be given out for free when used for affordable housing construction projects
The Tesla and Space X CEO first tweeted a picture of his firm’s underground boring machine in February 2017 with the caption ‘Minecraft’ – a reference to the popular video game in which players dig large tunnel networks for resources.
In January, the Boring Company presented plans to build the 6.5-mile (10.5 km) shaft under Culver City, California, at a council meeting.
It first started work on a test site under SpaceX headquarters in LA at the end of last year. Musk announced his plans to sell the LEGO-like blocks back in March.
Pictured is the watchtower of Torrelodones, in Madrid photographed at sunset. It’s unclear how Elon Musk plans to design the headquarters to resemble the iconic medieval architecture
The firm uses massive boring machines to dig tunnels that can support high-speed transit systems under Los Angeles, as well as other cities like Baltimore and Chicago in the future
He tweeted that instead of disposing of leftover earth removed as part of his network of tunnels, he planned to recycle it.
He said these rocks – dug out from under Washington, DC and Los Angeles – could be used to create sculptures and buildings.
‘Lifesize LEGO-like interlocking bricks made from tunnelling rock that you can use to create sculptures & buildings,’ Musk tweeted at the time.
‘Rated for California seismic loads, so super strong, but bored in the middle, like an aircraft wing spar, so not heavy.’
On its website, the company claims that creating bricks will reduce the environmental impacts of its projects – as production of cement accounts for four per cent of global CO2 emissions.
‘Lifesize LEGO-like interlocking bricks made from tunnelling rock that you can use to create sculptures & buildings’, Musk tweeted in March
The company had already hinted at these plans on the FAQ page on its website. ‘First kit set will be ancient Egypt — pyramids, Sphinx, temple of Horus, etc’, Musk wrote on Twitter
The SpaceX billionaire also joked; ‘And they said I’d never be a rock star…’ On the website, the company claims that creating bricks will reduce the environmental impacts of its projects
He later complained he felt his quip had gone ‘deeply unappreciated. ‘Turns out joking about being a ‘rock’ star because of digging tunnels (through, uh, rock — hello??) is deeply underappreciated’, he tweeted
‘First kit set will be ancient Egypt — pyramids, Sphinx, temple of Horus, etc,’ Musk subsequently wrote on his Twitter.
The SpaceX billionaire also joked: ‘And they said I’d never be a rock star…’ , later complaining he felt his quip had gone unappreciated.
‘Turns out joking about being a ‘rock’ star because of digging tunnels (through, uh, rock — hello??) is deeply underappreciated,’ he added.
This is not the only bit of Boring Company merchandise Musk has decided to create.
His last novelty item was flamethrowers retailing at $500 (£351) each, which he announced back in January.
The company sold 20,000 of them, and Musk tweeted at the time that they were ‘guaranteed to liven up any party!’
This is not the only bit of Boring Company merchandise Musk has decided to create. His last novelty item was a flamethrower retailing at $500 (£351) each
Each flamethrower, he said, comes with a free fire extinguisher and buyers had to agree to certain conditions before getting the device
‘When the zombie apocalypse happens, you’ll be glad you bought a flamethrower,’ he tweeted at the end of January.
‘Works against hordes of the undead or your money back!’
Each flamethrower, he said, comes with a free fire extinguisher and buyers need to agree to certain conditions before getting the device in spring.
The company also offered $30 (£21) fire extinguisher, sales for which have now also ended.
The firm said: ‘Buy an overpriced Boring Company fire extinguisher! You can definitely buy one for less elsewhere, but this one comes with a cool sticker and the button is conveniently riiight above.’
‘I know it’s a little off-brand, but kids love it,’ Musk wrote about the flamethrower when he first announced it.
Most people initially assumed that the South African entrepreneur was joking.
WHAT IS ELON MUSK’S ‘BORING’ PLAN?
When Elon Musk first announced his plans to bore a tunnel to his SpaceX offices in Los Angeles, it was hard to know if he was simply venting his frustrations about being stuck in traffic.
‘Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging…’, he tweeted in December of 2016.
He ended his rant on the social media site with: ‘I am actually going to do this’.
The billionaire’s tunnel-digging firm ‘The Boring Company’ has presented its plans to build a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) shaft under Culver City, California, at a council meeting. Pictured is an image shared by Musk in October of the firm’s test tunnel in Los Angeles
The billionaire first tweeted a picture of his firm’s boring machine back in February 2017 with the caption ‘Minecraft’ – a reference to the popular video game in which players dig large tunnel networks for resources.
On Monday, January 22, 2018, the Boring Company presented plans to build the 6.5-mile (10.5 km) shaft under Culver City, California, at a council meeting.
According to the plans, the privately-funded tunnel would carry cars on ‘electric skates’ at 150 miles per hour (240 kph) to help with LA’s ‘soul-destroying’ congestion.
The proposed route goes through West Los Angeles passing underneath Sepulveda Boulevard through Culver City.
The tunnel could also make Hyperloop adoption viable.
Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at over 600 miles per hour (965.6 kilometers per hour) between distant locations.
Musk’s proposed first tunnel will run from LAX to Culver City, then to Santa Monica, and end in Westwood. Musk claims the tunnel trip will take five minutes, compared to 45 minutes driving in normal LA traffic
It was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who at the time said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes – half the time it takes a plane.
It is essentially a long tube that has had the air removed to create a vacuum.
The tube is suspended off the ground to protect against weather and earthquakes.
In August of 2017, Elon Musk took to social media to share progress on his traffic-beating tunnel beneath Los Angeles, revealing it was big enough to fit a Tesla Model S
Here’s where the Boring Company’s current projects stand:
- Hawthorne: A test tunnel has been permitted and is under construction.
- Los Angeles: An excavation permit application has been submitted to the City of Los Angeles. The project would be a 6.5 mile (10.5 km) proof-of-process tunnel which would run within the City of Los Angeles and Culver City.
- East Coast: The Boring Company says its working with federal and state officials on a DC-to-Baltimore route which would then be extended to New York. The State of Maryland has granted permission for 10.1 miles of tunnel beneath the state-owned part of the Baltimore-Washington. The company has released details of twin tunnels for 35 miles from downtown DC to downtown Baltimore, beneath New York Avenue and then the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. In the future this could be extended to New York.
- Chicago: The Boring Company has been selected to build a high-speed underground transportation system that it says will whisk passengers from downtown Chicago to O’Hare International Airport in mere minutes.