Elon Musk’s companies have a very strong tendency to attract their own share of critics, including those in notable positions in their respective sectors. This was the case with Tesla and its electric vehicles, and the same happened with SpaceX and its reusable orbital class rockets. The Boring Company, another Elon Musk venture, is now gathering its own skeptics as well, with Martin Herrenknecht, the founder of Herrenknecht AG, one of the world’s leading tunnel drill machines (TBM) manufacturers, recently voicing their doubts about the tunnel start.
German business publishing Magazin Manager recently interviewed Herrenknecht. When asked about Elon Musk’s tunnel-building aspirations with The Boring Company, the founder of Herrenknecht AG was indifferent, noting that he believes the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is overrated, at least when it comes to tunnel construction . The executive added that his company’s TBMs are much more advanced than Boring Company’s tunneling machines today.
“For my industry, I see Musk above all as a skilled mustache. He says he can build tunnels faster and cheaper than others and is causing a stir. In his landmark project in Las Vegas, Musk drilled 20 meters in one week. We can do the same route in one day, ”he said.
Explaining more, Herrenknecht noted that it would be a great challenge for Elon Musk to become competent in the tunnel industry. The executive noted that he believes The Boring Company will not reach the same heights as other Musk ventures like Tesla and SpaceX in the next ten years or more due to the complexity of the tunneling segment. “I think the degree of difficulty and complexity in the construction of tunnels is greater,” noted Herrenknecht.
Interestingly, the executive also shared a personal anecdote about Elon Musk himself. According to Herrenknecht, Musk actually approached Herrenknecht AG for the potential purchase of a tunnel boring machine for The Boring Company in the past. However, during the negotiations, Elon Musk reportedly exhibited “strange commercial behavior”, leaving the room for long periods and suggesting various ideas. Musk was also adamant about reducing the price of TBMs from $ 10 million to just $ 2 million.
“It was very chaotic because he left the room several times for a long time and kept having different ideas … Something like that doesn’t work,” said Herrenknecht.
Needless to say, The Boring Company did not buy a TBM from Herrenknecht AG. The tunneling startup was able to purchase its tunneling machines from another company, the first of which was used to complete a test tunnel in Hawthorne, CA. Elon Musk also announced that The Boring Company is working on the development of a fully electric TBM called Prufrock, which has the potential to dig tunnels significantly faster than the best in the industry today.
Elon Musk’s ill-fated encounter with Herrenknecht AG echoes some elements of the Tesla CEO’s meeting with the Russians in 2001. At that time, Musk intended to buy intercontinental ballistic missiles that could be used to launch some payloads into space. The discussions ended up failing because of the cost of the missiles and, on the trip back to the United States, Musk concluded that building rockets would be viable. SpaceX was founded a year later and the rest is history.
It remains to be seen whether The Boring Company would be the disruptor that Elon Musk plans to be. That said, skeptics of the tunnel’s startup today appear to be following the same standards as critics of Tesla and SpaceX, many of whom have proven to be wrong over the years. If any, Herrenknecht’s references to Tesla’s aggressive cost-cutting demands and innovative ideas are the classic Elon Musk. And, like the critics before him, the executive reacted adversely to the CEO.
It would be interesting to see if The Boring Company, at least in the coming years, could grow enough to challenge the titans of the TBM industry, as well as its companions Tesla and SpaceX, led by Elon Musk. At least for now, the story seems to favor Elon Musk and his daring companies, all noted and respected for his unorthodox nature and aggressive strategies.
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