DUBAI: The UAE has announced a collaboration with Elon Musk on the new underground Dubai Loop project at the World Governments Summit on Thursday.
The Dubai Loop is set to cover the city’s most populated areas and would help transport people underground in a seamless manner, said Omar Sultan AlOlama, the UAE’s minister of state for artificial intelligence, digital economy and remote work applications.
AlOlama made the announcement in conversation with Musk, who was speaking via video link, at the summit.
“It’s going to be like a wormhole, you will wormhole from one part of the city and then, boom, you are out on another part of the city,” said Musk.
Musk’s construction firm, the Boring Co., has built underground traffic tunnels in California and Las Vegas, which were tested in 2018.
These tunnels, according to Musk, promise high-speed transportation, a reduction in traffic, and a better alternative to public transport systems such as subways.
When asked about criticisms regarding safety in the tunnels, Musk said one of the safest places to be during an earthquake, for example, would be a tunnel.
“Being in a tunnel is like being in a submarine, even if there is a storm above you the water is still calm around the submarine,” he explained.
Musk said that underground travel was much more efficient and safer in comparison to air transport such as flying taxis and helicopters.
He made the comments during a session titled “Boring Cities, AI and DOGE,” a year after a model of a flying taxi was featured at the 2024 World Governments Summit.
The acronym DOGE stands for the new Department of Government Efficiency, which is led by Musk, and created by President Donald Trump in January to slash federal spending.
Asked about his plans for the US government, Musk called for a “war on bureaucracy” and said the US must move toward rule by the people.
“We have a lot of support from the American public to improve government efficiency. It is something that appeals to voters of all types. Seventy percent of voters wanted more efficiency in governance,” he said.
Musk said improving government efficiency in the US would reduce inflation, alleviate government deficits and lead to less involvement in international affairs.
This means people could potentially spend less through low interest rates and potentially zero-rated inflation, Musk added.
“The US has been pushy in international affairs, we should leave other countries on their own and America should mind its own business,” he added.
Musk said the goal was to reduce the size of the federal government and reduce regulations. But he warned that the solution to combating overregulation was a war on bureaucracy.
“In the absence of that (war) you get more rules and regulations until everything is eventually illegal. There needs to be a war against bureaucracy in the government,” said Musk.
He explained that a reduction in government spending would lead to the economy growing faster and cited a possible 4 or 5 percent increase.
“Government spending can be reduced by 3 or 4 percent so there is no inflation in 2025 to 2026,” he added.
“If the government reduces deficits from $2 trillion to $1 trillion, inflation will drop and debt payments will be less, benefiting the average American,” explained Musk.
Musk said there were currently 450 federal agencies in the US government, averaging two new agencies a year since the formation of the US, which he said was “too many.”
Lack of efficiency in US governance is also related to poor tech systems in governments, he added.
“The US runs on thousands of computers that don’t talk to each other, in order to improve efficiency in government upgrades to this tech is needed,” he said.
