Tesla has been talking about making an electric van or bus for years. Recently information may have been leaked about a new Tesla electric van from Elon Musk’s Boring Company. Musk has previously talked about making a Tesla minibus derived from the Model X. Unfortunately it never came to fruition.
CEO Elon Musk talked about two new segments Tesla wants to electricity during the “Tesla Master Plan Part 2.” “In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport. Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.” Musk explained. Tesla did end up revealing the Tesla Semi, a heavy duty truck. However, they have never unveiled a vehicle for “high passenger-destiny urban transport.”
Although Tesla has talked about making a passenger vehicles for Musk’s Boring Company, as time has gone by they’ve only used existing Tesla vehicles. Now, Boring Company has submitted a Loop project to link Rancho Cucamonga with Ontario International Airport in the greater Los Angeles region.
A county official working on a new Boring Company project allegedly leaked a new Tesla vehicles program that the Boring Company will use. Mercury news reported “A San Bernardino County transportation agency voted Wednesday, June 3, to pursue a proposal from Elon Musk’s The Boring Co. for a high-speed tunnel linking Rancho Cucamonga with Ontario International Airport.” San Bernardino County is overseeing the project and has been very impressed by the company’s proposal. So impressed that they’ve dropped studies about other transportation options and is focusing on the Loop. A 2.8-mile tunnel system that would transport people via electric vehicles inside the tunnels which link the airport to a station in Rancho Cucamonga. The county believes a final price tag for the project could be about $60 million.
San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman reportedly told Mercury News “Originally, the proposal called for specially designed Tesla cars. But Hagman said the company is working with Tesla to develop electric vans that can seat up to 12 people and their luggage, enlarging the capacity to 1,200 people per day, or 10 million-plus per year.” No other information was given about the vehicles. The county and the Boring Company will work on a report regarding routes, costs, and environmental concerns. The report should be submitted come August or September.
The project sounds quite similar to the one proposed for the Chicago O’Hare Airport, as well as the one currently in construction in Las Vegas. Even with all this information it is possible that this is a rumor as the only source is one county official. The question remains whether Tesla will modify an existing vehicle or create something brand new. Possibly something like what the Boring Company previously unveiled.