Musk Says Tesla Has Designed a Submarine Car

Published: June 14, 2019, 2 p.m.

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If you\\u2019re a James Bond fan, you\\u2019ve certainly seen the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me. You\\u2019d also know that there is literally no way that Bond could adequately investigate the disappearance of British and Russian submarines without at least a basic submarine car.

So the movie incorporated an amphibious vehicle that could drive on both land and sea, played by a modified 1976 Lotus Esprit.\\xa0

The Wet Nellie, as it was nicknamed, was auctioned off in 2013 for about a million bucks and its buyer was none other than the notorious innovator Elon Musk, who said seeing Bond drive the Esprit off a pier and press a button to transform it into a submarine was \\u201cthe coolest thing (he had) seen in a movie.\\u201d

And if you\\u2019re Elon Musk and you think something is cool, you will go the ends of the earth to make it viable in real life \\u2013 just look at Tesla, SpaceX, Solar City, The Boring Company \\u2026 you get it.

That\\u2019s why it\\u2019s fun, and not exactly surprising, that Elon Musk recently revealed to a group of shareholders that Tesla actually has a design for a submarine car like the one from the famous film.

Musk acknowledges that this endeavor would be difficult. We agree. It would involve, he says, upgrading the Lotus Esprit with a Tesla electric powertrain and may only result in an eventual \\u201cshow car.\\u201d

If it were ever to be commercially available the market, he says, would be \\u201csmall but enthusiastic.\\u201d

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