
Elon Musk to make James Bond submarine car a reality - orky56
http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/17/autos/musk-bond-sub-tesla/
======
001sky
_It 's a so-called wet submarine, meaning that it fills with water when
submerged, so the driver has to wear a wetsuit and breathe air from a tank.
(The dry passenger compartment shown in the movie was a set.) It has no
steering wheel or other automobile controls and is instead controlled with
levers. The fins on the outside are not retractable, but permanent._

So, the title is false. Or at best, misleading. He is going to take a james
bond movie prop and get it wet. He is not going to make [the] "james bond
submarine car" a reality. This is somehow increasingly typical of Tesla
stories that make it on HN.

~~~
baddox
Are you sure Musk isn't planning on massively upgrading the thing to transform
and be an actual "dry submarine"? The article says that the car he bought is
just a prop that doesn't even transform, but that he wants to make it
transform. That sounds to me like his goal is to recreate the functionality
the car had on film, including having a dry interior when submerged.

~~~
001sky
The reportage is in quotes (italics). [1]

[1] From wikipedia: "Musk plans to install a Tesla electric powertrain in the
submarine S1 and make it transform into a road-going car. [6]" There is
nothing in the story that say it would be a dry submarine. What it appears is
that the <wet submarine> would be able to "transform" into a road-going car,
in other words, just what wikipedia quote also says. CNN, viz: _" I was
disappointed to learn that it can't actually transform," Musk said in a
statement provided by Tesla. "What I'm going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla
electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real."_ But a power train
is not a pressure
hull([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_hull#Pressure_hull](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_hull#Pressure_hull)),
which is what would be required for a dry sub.

------
johnvschmitt
Pure novelty.

Subs are not energy efficient. Water is 1,000x more dense than air, & moving
through it takes far more energy.

And, hybrid (land+water) is going to require far more hardware, driving up the
price & weight (& thus efficiency) of a vehicle.

But, it's cool & he has the budget & gumption for it, so THANKS Elon, for
keeping us entertained!

~~~
Florin_Andrei
It seems to me like this is his equivalent of a hobby or week-end project. So
I wouldn't try to read too much into it.

Yet.

~~~
zerooneinfinity
Even Linux was a 'hobby weekend project' at one point.

~~~
gcb0
didn't he started that for university credits?

------
brittanymorgan
I never thought Elon Musk would try to disrupt the Duck Tours business.

~~~
mnbvcxza
Hopefully his vehicle will be safer than theirs is.

------
oofabz
Top Gear also made a Bond submarine car:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfOwSTXP-3o](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfOwSTXP-3o)

~~~
ceejayoz
Most of Top Gear's submarine cars weren't intended to be.

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Sam121
Elon Musk can do anything i am waiting for the day when Elon Musk launch
Robots like Pacific Rim and transformers. Initially i don know about this
person but one of my friend inform me about Tesla,space x and Elon Musk. I got
surprised and think that what i am doing or others are doing. From that day
Elon Musk name give me Positive boost. You can do it sir. We are waiting...

~~~
stcredzero
_> Elon Musk launch Robots like Pacific Rim_

Sarcos had the technology for full-body haptic feedback harnesses of the type
that were somewhat portrayed in Pacific Rim, and they had this in the 90's, if
I recall correctly. DARPA had arm/shoulder/head haptic feedback projects even
back in the 70's and 80's.

The problem is that the human form factor is quite complex, and it will always
be cheaper to make a simpler specialized tool. Humans are scary good at
controlling things, even without haptic feedback.

Transformers: Just physically impossible for anything more functional than a
movie prop. (Ok, maybe Monster Truck rallies.)

------
ck2
_" I was disappointed to learn that it can't actually transform"_

This is after spending a million dollars on it (literally).

~~~
a1a
Not sure if you are serious. But I would assume he meant that he learned this
before and later decided to buy the car either way.

------
cobrausn
So, I submitted this same thing earlier, but it looks like HN automatically
kills gawker submissions.

[http://jalopnik.com/zomg-elon-musk-to-turn-lotus-
submarine-i...](http://jalopnik.com/zomg-elon-musk-to-turn-lotus-submarine-
into-working-bo-1447469023)

------
stcredzero
I wonder if Elon actually has the resources to make a functional dry submarine
car with capabilities as portrayed in the movie? With some consulting from
marine engineers, his people could probably fabricate such a prototype out of
aluminum. He and his companies probably couldn't afford to take the resources
away from R&D to actually do this, however.

Top Gear made their submarine car Lotus, but it was considerably compromised
as both a car and a submarine. Can't really be debonair when a stream of water
is squirting onto your tuxedo trousers. It only held water out of the cockpit
by having air pumped in at a high rate.

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mratzloff
Spaceship, submarine car... has anyone heard anything about Musk planning
orbital laser weapons, by any chance? It would be the next logical super
villain move.

~~~
walshemj
If he starts cloning Persian cats we have to be really worried - Btw is it
true that space X employees have color coded jumpsuits and hard hats as
uniforms :-)

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ChikkaChiChi
I wish more people dared to dream like Elon Musk does. He's a modern day
Howard Hughes (minus the fingernail and pee thing).

~~~
riggins
just reading a Howard Hughes bio.

Howard Hughes was no Elon Musk. Musk is way more impressive.

Hughes inherited a fantastic business from his father and made a lot of
terrible business decisions.

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sschueller
I don't think so. The amount air in the vehicle would require a very heavy car
that would not perform on the street.

Rinspeed design tryed it and the closest they got was the scuba concept that
is open for exactly that reason.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E4q7p6R3Og](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E4q7p6R3Og)

~~~
a-priori
From the article: "It's a so-called wet submarine, meaning that it fills with
water when submerged, so the driver has to wear a wetsuit and breathe air from
a tank. (The dry passenger compartment shown in the movie was a set.)"

------
blktiger
I'm not really sure why he needed to buy the prop. He has a car company, why
not just make a submersible Tesla. :)

~~~
speedyrev
Because it gives him positive press. Plain and simple.

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Apocryphon
This can be used to cross the Bay without bridges, ferries, or BART. Between
Tesla cars, the hyperloop, and this, perhaps he is solving Silicon Valley's
transportation troubles after all.

~~~
deletes
Wouldn't you need a special(shallow angle) entry point to the water.

~~~
wiredfool
Like a boat ramp?

~~~
stcredzero
Specially tuned Trebuchet?

------
ender89
When are we finally going to admit that this guy is a real life bond villain?
We need to stop him before he relocates to a volcano lair and threatens the
earth with a space-based laser beam.

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orky56
Is Musk buying these things like this submarine car and an actual submarine as
just a patron or does he actually need them for research purposes?

------
jlgreco
The shape of that windshield seems sub-optimal for holding back any
significant water pressure. Could the prop actually be submerged at all?

~~~
T-A
Yes, but with water on both sides of the windshield (it was a "wet" sub, no
airtight compartment).

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knodi
Rather have a flying car than submarine car.

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needacig
Jesus Christ.

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jgalt212
It's for the hyperloop.

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contextual
Another example of the media stuffing the mythology of Elon until it's as fat
as a Thanksgiving turkey.

Then, when he falls out of favour with the press, they'll eat him alive.

All these bogus stories of Elon the superhuman mega genius aren't good for him
in the long run. He can't live up to it and he shouldn't play up to it. He's
being set up.

EDIT: Paradoxically, I think it's about time an Engineer gets treated like a
star. He's a great role model for kids.

