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Elon Musk built a “submarine” to rescue Thailand kids—here’s what it looks like
Device likely won't be needed but Musk is sending it to Thailand just in case.
Scuba divers in Thailand have already rescued four of the 12 boys who have been stranded, along with their coach, in a flooded cave. And they are hoping to rescue the rest in the next couple of days. But in the meantime, Elon Musk has continued working on alternative strategies divers could use if conventional diving proves too difficult the remaining boys.
On Saturday, Musk settled on the idea of building "a tiny, kid-size submarine using the liquid oxygen transfer tube of Falcon rocket as hull." He ordered SpaceX engineers to begin building the device, saying that it could be ready by the end of the day on Saturday.
By the time it was finished, Thai officials had already begun their rescue operation without Musk's help, so the technology likely won't be needed. But Musk decided to press forward anyway, tweeting that "even if not useful here, perhaps it will be in a future situation."
On Sunday, he posted photos of the completed device.
"Testing for 3 more hours in LA, then it’s on a plane to Thailand," Musk tweeted late on Sunday morning, California time.
Musk also posted a video of the device being tested in a Los Angeles pool:
