BILLIONAIRE tech mogul Elon Musk says he could transform transatlantic travel by building a $20 trillion vacuum tube tunnel.
The Tesla and Space X mastermind believes someday tourists may be able to whizz between London and New York in as little as 54 minutes on board an underwater train.
Initial plans for the ambitious tunnel system have been around for years with Musk not being involved in the blueprints.
Clever architects and developers are said to be working on the possibility of creating a tunnel and a train which is capable of reaching speeds of up to 3,000mph.
The innovative idea is to create a vacuum within the tunnel that when paired with pressurised vehicles causes the almighty speeds.
News outlet Newsweek reports: “By creating a vacuum within the tunnel and using pressurised vehicles, trains travelling along the structure could theoretically reach speeds of more than 3,000 mph.
“Making the journey between London and New York barely an hour long.”
Despite researchers claiming to have the ability and knowledge to create such a fast-paced and simple route they are still facing major issues.
Transforming the idea into reality is expected to cost up to $20 trillion (£15.8tn).
The almighty cost is believed to be the biggest stumbling block for any ambitious entrepreneur, bold businessman or even a nation itself to fund the project.
Earlier this week however, X chief Musk commented on the possibility of the tunnel and claimed he could build it for a fraction of the price.
The 53-year-old posted a reply to a viral post about the tunnel saying: “The @boringcompany could do it for 1000X less money.”
The Boring Company are a US infrastructure and tunnel construction company founded by Musk.
They have already been leading the charge for seamless travel after creating a bustling, neon-coloured tunnel underneath Las Vegas.
The company constructed a series of “hyperloop” tunnels around Las Vegas’ Convention Center and near the Hawthorne, California SpaceX headquarters.
Dubbed the Vegas Loop, it spans 1.7 miles and connects riders on the outskirts of the Convention Center facility to the city’s public transit system.
Its main goal to help with traffic congestion in the area.
The current quickest commercial way of getting across the Atlantic and into the Big Apple is by plane.
A non-stop flight currently takes between seven to eight hours meaning the vacuum tunnel could reduce travel time by up to a third of a day.
This is if it can reach the unprecedented speeds experts believe it could hit.
The current world’s fastest public train, the Shanghai Maglev, reaches a top speed of just 286mph.
But if the vacuum technology and use of jet propulsion can be developed then it could see the new train’s engine capable of soaring to much higher heights.
The @boringcompany could do it for 1000X less money
Elon Musk
The Boring Company are yet to formally announce any plans to work on the London to New York idea despite their founder’s comments.
But if Musk’s prediction were to be true then it would bring the cost down to the billions range.
The second major issue with such a transformative project is the potential time and effort it will take to successfully build and test it out.
If it was to be built at the same rate as similar-style tunnel networks across the world, such as the Channel Tunnel then it could take 782 to complete, say Newsweek.
It comes as developers are already looking into shortening the length of time it takes to travel between London and New York.
A supersonic jet is in the works which is believed to take passengers across the ocean in 3.5hours.
The XB-1 plane, from Boom Technology, has already completed seven out of ten subsonic test flights as engineers work towards making the aircraft supersonic.
It has hit speeds of Mach 0.81 – or 499 knots, up from Mach 0.67 on its previous flight.
And has reached a new max altitude of 23,015ft.
Musk himself has also spoken about creating a rocket capable of quickening up the journey in recent years.
SpaceX is reportedly building a vehicle that will fire tourists from London to New York in under half an hour dubbed the 18,000mph Starship.
