Elon Musk Unveils Urban Slingshot System Able To Move 6 Pedestrians Across Street Per Hour

AUSTIN—Boasting that the system used 75% less power than normal cars and could be installed on almost any street corner with 400 square feet of free space, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a new urban slingshot system Wednesday that he claimed was capable of of moving up to six pedestrians across the street per hour. “America is still stuck in the 19th century when it comes to crossing the street, but I know we can do better,” said Musk, presenting a detailed rendering of the integrated “Skypod” crossing system that would launch sealed, individually seated pedestrians pods with a motorized sling above the street to a predetermined location on the adjoining sidewalk. “Getting to the other side of the street used to mean wasting energy by using your legs and being exposed to dozens of other people, but that is in the past. Each crossing network costs only $10 million to install and is fully automated, with a climate-controlled environment for the five-minute loading process and journey across the street. And while there have been several instances of the pods crushing pedestrians when they land, I can assure you the lawsuit costs are nothing compared to the savings over helicopter crossing.” At press time, 34 cities across the country had bid more than $10 billion to become the first Skypod City.