A modified Tesla Model X drives into the tunnel entrance before an unveiling event for the Boring ... [+]
I’d like to build a tunnel from my house to a remote office.
The transit time alone would be worth it, especially if I can drive about 90 miles-per-hour. No traffic, no stops along the way — just get in my car and drive. I could enable autonomous driving mode, sit back and have a coffee, and write these columns.
There’s a small problem with my idea, though.
First, I have neighbors. They might object to letting me install a massive above-ground entryway that leads to a subterranean highway. I’m not sure if city officials would go for it. Since the cost would likely be in the millions, I wonder if a bank would approve the loan.
Sadly, we don’t live in a world where someone like myself can build a tunnel like that without some form of consensus and collaboration. We think bureaucracy is always a bad thing when in reality, there are times when a slow-moving process is ideal. In fact, that is the reason we have a complex system of government.
The Boring Company is facing a few roadblocks that show how this works. Recently, a podcast called Today, Explained made a really good attempt to debunk why building tunnels for cars might not be the smartest innovation in the world. One example they gave is from Chicago, where the project stalled when everyone realized it was kind of dumb.
As the hosts chatted and mentioned Elon Musk and his tunneling plans, I kept thinking about Twitter.
Granted, the social media platform has been on my mind lately. The news has died down a bit, probably because of the holidays, but Elon Musk buying Twitter must be the tech story of the year. I’ve been trying to figure out why Musk even bought Twitter, and why he seems to be trying to burn it to the ground.
And yet, there is a connection here between the new Twitter and boring tunnels, which is: do whatever the heck you want. It’s a mix of libertarianism, free speech, and the Don’t Tread On Me mindset.
In Elon Musk’s world, I could build a tunnel for my morning commute. The bank would approve my loan. My neighbors would just have to live with it. Similarly, I should be able to do what I want on Twitter, as long as it’s not illegal.
Whatever bureaucracy might exist, such as content filtering or gatekeeping, should be as minimal as possible on social media. That’s the theory at least, even if deploying that widely as a social media policy is pretty hard.
Apparently it’s also pretty tough when it comes to building tunnels, which originated as a joke about The Boring Company and Elon Musk wanting to drive to work a little faster.
This is where we can begin to understand the motivations and thought process of the most brilliantly crazy billionaire on the planet. I am also starting to understand why I’m so fascinated by it. In the world in which we live, you can’t build a tunnel to work. You also can’t post internal memos about company discussions regarding a missing laptop, unless of course you buy the company.
No one should be able to build a reusable rocket, either. Or an electric car with a private network of superchargers all across the country. Unfortunately, the “do what you want” mentality is a wonderful mindset when it comes to building products and is perhaps the foundation of all innovation. It is not the best approach when it comes to social media, or maybe even how to live in a world full of rules.
So what does this mean for Twitter?
I would say it’s a nice idea to let us post whatever we want even if it’s incredibly unrealistic. I would also say The Boring Company reminds me of the subway. There’s a reason the “do what you want” mindset usually goes underground.
