Photo: The Boring Company
Of all the promises made by Elon Musk, one of the most frustrating must have been The Boring Company’s Loops. Still presented by the company as a revolution for traffic with autonomous cars driving at speeds of up to 150 mph, the Loop ended up being a narrow tunnel where hired drivers take curious people for a spin. TechCrunch obtained documents about the operation of the Las Vegas Loop and discovered the training script instructs drivers to dodge tricky questions and praise Musk.
The document first states that drivers should avoid questions about him because they are “extremely common and extremely sensitive.” Despite the “public fascination” people have with Musk, drivers should “be as brief as possible” when talking about him and do their best “to shut down such conversation.”
The document brings guidelines for common questions as well. If people ask what Musk is like, drivers should say: “He’s awesome! Inspiring / motivating / etc.” If they ask if these drivers like to work for him, they should answer: “Yup, he’s a great leader! He motivates us to do great work.”
For the ones that dare to ask about Musk’s attitude as a boss or if he smokes marijuana, for example, the answers are also pre-determined: “I haven’t seen that article, but that hasn’t been my experience.” That can be reinforced with the answer to questions about his involvement with the Loop: “He’s the company founder, and has been very involved and supportive.”
Even his tweets are covered in the expected questions. In this case, the answer should be: “Elon is a public figure. We’re just here to provide an awesome transportation experience!”
Loop drivers have to be protective of more than just their boss. They also have to care for the reputation of the system itself. If passengers ask about crashes in the tunnel, the recommended answer is: “It’s a very safe system, and I’m not sure. You’d have to reach out to the company.”
The last ironic bit about the Loop is that Autopilot is forbidden there. For a tunnel that was conceived as a fast escape from traffic jams with automated carts and vehicles driving at high speeds, it is anything but.
The document brings guidelines for common questions as well. If people ask what Musk is like, drivers should say: “He’s awesome! Inspiring / motivating / etc.” If they ask if these drivers like to work for him, they should answer: “Yup, he’s a great leader! He motivates us to do great work.”
For the ones that dare to ask about Musk’s attitude as a boss or if he smokes marijuana, for example, the answers are also pre-determined: “I haven’t seen that article, but that hasn’t been my experience.” That can be reinforced with the answer to questions about his involvement with the Loop: “He’s the company founder, and has been very involved and supportive.”
Even his tweets are covered in the expected questions. In this case, the answer should be: “Elon is a public figure. We’re just here to provide an awesome transportation experience!”
Loop drivers have to be protective of more than just their boss. They also have to care for the reputation of the system itself. If passengers ask about crashes in the tunnel, the recommended answer is: “It’s a very safe system, and I’m not sure. You’d have to reach out to the company.”
The last ironic bit about the Loop is that Autopilot is forbidden there. For a tunnel that was conceived as a fast escape from traffic jams with automated carts and vehicles driving at high speeds, it is anything but.
Google News