Elon Musk has been dubbed Iron Man for building companies that would help save humanity from long-term threats — global warming, climate change, and even the eventual destruction of planet earth. But every once in a while, he does seem to involve himself with more pressing crises.
Musk is now coordinating in real time with Thai authorities to help rescue the 12 boys and their football coach that have been stuck in a cave for the last 2 weeks. “Some good feedback from cave experts in Thailand. Iterating with them on an escape pod design that might be safe enough to try. Also building an inflatable tube with airlocks. Less likely to work, given tricky contours, but great if it does,” he tweeted.
Some good feedback from cave experts in Thailand. Iterating with them on an escape pod design that might be safe enough to try. Also building an inflatable tube with airlocks. Less likely to work, given tricky contours, but great if it does.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 7, 2018
The 12 young boys, aged between 11 and 16, have been stuck in a cave after losing their way during an expedition two weeks ago. Musk had first been alerted to the crisis by a Twitter user, who’d approached him given his expertise in building tunnels through the Boring company. Musk had then said that he believed that the Thai government was looking into the situation, but was happy to help.
I suspect that the Thai govt has this under control, but I’m happy to help if there is a way to do so
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 4, 2018
But over the last couple of days, Musk has been actively coordinating with several people, discussing possible ways to get the boys out of the cave. Musk’s ideas have been creative, ranging from inserting an inflatable tube through the cave and then pumping air in it, to pumping out the water from the intermediate caves.
Yesterday, he’d announced that SpaceX and Boring company engineers were heading to Thailand to see if they could help the Thai government.
SpaceX & Boring Co engineers headed to Thailand tomorrow to see if we can be helpful to govt. There are probably many complexities that are hard to appreciate without being there in person.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 6, 2018
And today, Musk has announced that he was iterating on building an escape pod that could be used to evacuate the boys. Musk, of course, has been working on pods of his own — the Boring company plans to build tunnels and tracks underground and will have pods running on the them help commuters escape the gridlocks in most cities. But for now, Musk’s pods could end up being used to save the lives of 12 schoolboys stuck in faraway Thailand.