OR

OK - I kinda think Elon is an alien

Elon is coming to LV. He's the arguably most famous dynamic transportation innovator in the
country / world right now. The world is lucky to have Elon. I am taking a little (after hours) time to share my thoughts on Elon.

TSLA

General Motors should have built the Model S. BMW should have built the Model S. Either company technically could have. But neither did, and it took someone with vision and the right resources to make it happen. Awesome! It's a major accomplishment. Producing 500 Model S cars / week - damn! But the Model S only lightly leverages information communication technology (ICT) to create far more e cient and high performing transportation. With cities like Denver having an average of 1.1 people traveling in each car, it's safe to assume roughly every Model S is traveling 75% empty. Yes, not di erent than most cars in US, but still - the Model S (and conventional cars) are traveling at only a 20% load factor - a level of ine ciency an airliner could only operate at for one week before going out of business. I nd irony when an entrepreneur makes hundreds of millions in ICT ventures, then comes to transportation and invests in essentially an old outdated model of mobility - the car ownership model. Elon has done that. Shai Agassi (Better Place) was essentially the same. (If billions were spent on Better Place battery swap infrastructure across the world, the day it was nally all installed, not one dollar would have gone to ease global urban tra c congestion, or to again leverage billions of smartphones and ICT to reduce the need for so many cars in the rst place).

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The high rollers that get the opportunity to leverage ICT to reinvent the movement of people (and ultimately goods) includes Sunil Paul (SideCar), Sean O'Sullivan (Avego / Car.ma), and Tony Hsieh (+Zach). From everything I have seen Elon say (and do), I don't think he gets it. And frankly, some don't.

This is the car LA (+world) needs

TIME 4 SKINNY TESLA

So Elon has kicked ass and reinvented the powertrain of the conventional car. An obvious contribution to bettering the world. But not going as far as one could, like Project 100 is, to really improve things. One thing he could do (if focused on manufacturing) is build a "narrow" car, like the type I keep talking about. (Yes, the Nissan Land Glider type). The narrow or tandem car would be freeway capable and could be used in any city and any place a conventional car is - but 2 of the vehicles could travel in the space of one (mostly empty) conventional car. Most automakers don't have the balls to make this type of vehicle. There is concern about safety, but there could be a variety of ICT / telematic approaches to reducing likelihood of collisions.

but better looking | great price

One LA resident writes:

What about sprawls? within sprawls like Los Angeles? I commute by bus and train, have optimized my route as best as possible, and it still takes me 70 minutes to go about 20 miles (freeway equivalent). I'd like to see the splitting of a few freeway lanes in half and using them for commuting only in one passenger vehicles like the Tango (or something less expensive) or motorcycles. Dedicated lanes for small light vehicles would make people more comfortable commuting in them and would be a nice incentive to travel more and energy).

The narrow car has far better aerodynamics, and saves a lot of energy as a result. They DNA carry 2 people, sturges enough capacity ELOFF for most trips. 3 With our cities becoming populated with many new carsharing services, upsizing from a narrow car to a larger car when needed is very feasible. Building a Tesla narrow car would be a major contribution to the improved livability of our cities and is a substantial business opportunity.

Perhaps the conversation with Elon will be around S elf Driving Cars? (There are two main approaches to SDC (1) ultimate cruse control - SDC tech on BMW that let's the driver let go of the wheel and pedals on freeway travel. And (2) the "robo-cab" approach where cars come to people needing rides. Again, Daimler saying they are not even working on SDC tech for inner-city travel - to chaotic). But as an EV maker, building a narrow car is the single most valuable thing he could do to advancing mobility in US / world and building Tesla into mobility (vehicle supplier) giant.

MARS CANDY BAR

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Lastly, it's great Elon wants to go to Mars. But if we humans well on Mars. The place is far away. Yet it's not anything in the larger scheme of things. Consider if you travel at the speed of light (186,000 miles per SECOND), it will take you 1,000 years to travel from one end of the GALAXY we are in to the other. Fuck! And we have so much need to redesign how we live here moon, the singer poet Gil Scott Heron sang; "My sister Nell got bit by a RAT, while Whitey is on the Moon"! I'm not saying don't explore space, but damn we could be making things so much better here.

DOUBLE DECKER FREEWAYS - FLUNK!

Elon needs education in comprehensive mobility solutions. I was at an event in Santa Monica where Elon was talking. The issue of congestion came up. He said he knew all about it, and that his commute answer was we should begin building double decker freeways. He thought the technology was improving and costs would be less. So, there we are in 75% empty Teslas (and other cars), now on a second level as well. But it makes me wonder. What about the arterial streets that are clogged all over LA now as well. Do we double decker those. Guys, Elon is a gift to the world, but no one is perfect. He simply doesn't get ICT mobility all that well. Perhaps you can help him understand.

HYPERLOOP

ce which this topic so far. He's made this open sour in k wor 's Elon from e com will ld wor the Nothing but good for ng. d in business opportunity. Maybe I'm wro is some indication to me he's less intereste way to travel That's great. Airplanes are often not the best . stion que e airlin the ing solv at look to Hyperloop begins everyday, is drive in their take a plane once in a while. What they do long distances. But for me, most people only not in Elon's "design studio". s to long range travel, urban mobility is still look op erlo Hyp the as so And ce. epla city som turn his attention to a ility, business, and human development, he'd If Elon was really interested in advancing mob maglev models could be They travel slower, about 150 mph (faster ls". orai Mon ded pen "Sus d calle gy nolo tech The fact they now, as they will coast about 1/4 of light rail. s citie our of y man in e sens e mak They n mobility developed). e existing neighborhoods. They allow urba divid that n dow put g bein s) road (or ks are elevated keeps trac

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Or, put both the Narrow Car together with advanced transit and develop a DUAL M ODE Tesla mobility system

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DNA sturges ELOFF The End

Or rather than spending so many resources to go to space, why not help the billions of people on Earth to better visualize they ARE IN SPACE!