Moving from branded caps to flamethrowers was a pretty big leap for Elon Musk’s Boring Company. His latest idea, revealed by the man himself on Monday, seems to nestle neatly between the two (in terms of nuttiness).
We’re talking giant Lego-like “bricks” that can be used to create sculptures and buildings. In a series of tweets, Musk explained that the interlocking bricks will be made from rock excavated during the company’s ongoing tunneling efforts.
The billionaire entrepreneur said the bricks “are interlocking with a precise surface finish, so two people could build the outer walls of a small house in a day or so.”
If that all sounds rather too sensible and not at all zany, then wait till you hear about Musk’s idea for the “debut kit,” which he says is “coming soon.”
The kit, he says, will enable you to knock together versions of ancient Egyptian monuments — he singles out the pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Temple of Horus. Musk describes the Lego-like bricks as “life-size” so these sculptures could turn out real big.
First kit set will be ancient Egypt — pyramids, Sphinx, temple of Horus, etc
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2018
While it’s not difficult to understand how Musk was able to sell huge numbers of his branded caps, or indeed flamethrowers, we’re not so sure there’s much call for pyramid kits. Still, he has his fans, and if any of them have money to burn and a very large yard, it’s possible a Sphinx replica could really spruce up the place.
On a more serious note, we already know that the company wants to recycle the excavated earth “into useful bricks to be used to build structures.” Its FAQ page also suggests that the bricks “can potentially be used as a portion of the tunnel lining itself, which is typically built from concrete. Since concrete production accounts for 4.5 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, earth bricks would reduce both environmental impact and tunneling costs.”
So it seems that Musk, a true master of marketing, is using ancient Egypt to get more eyeballs on the idea and to keep the Boring Company’s efforts in the news.
Elon Musk has been using his offbeat side projects — caps, flamethrowers, and now bricks — to help publicize the Boring Company’s main goal: To build a subterranean transportation system in L.A. comprising networks of tunnels with high-speed electric sleds capable of carrying vehicles across the city. The company has also proposed an East Coast transportation project called “the DC-to-Baltimore Loop” that it claims will lead to “decreased commute times, decreased urban congestion, decreased public transportation trip times, decreased transportation costs/fares, and decreased greenhouse gas emissions.”
The price and release date of the Boring Company’s “Egypt kit” are yet to be announced.
