Billionaire Elon Musk Offers Help For Cave 13

By Taylor McAvoy, Contributor

 

Elon Musk, the billionaire entreprenuer, founder of SpaceX and Tesla Motors. Photo: JD Lasica/ Wikimedia Commons

 

CHIANG RAI — The fear of further storms add to the stress of rescue as time runs out for 13 people who have been trapped in a northern cave for a fortnight. But help could come from above.

 

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on Thursday reportedly offered assistance for the evacuation of 12 boys and their football coach trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non with his SpaceX exploration technology and Tesla high-powered pumps and batteries.

 

Full story:  http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2018/07/06/billionaire-elon-musk-offers-help-for-cave-13/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2018-07-06

I can't imagine the Thai government being able to pay for all that. Nowhere in the text does he say he's offering it for free. So if it is for free, that's wonderful though probably not a likely solution. But if it's not for free, then his company would be looking for millions of dollars from the misery of children and he should just sod off. 

relax......no i don't have proof...BUT  i assure you he is offering the help free of charge .

Please wait till/if it occurs to tell me that i am wrong

I thought they were asking for masks not musk.

Seriously though, this is great news! Bring in the high tech asap!

13 minutes ago, rumak said:

relax......no i don't have proof...BUT  i assure you he is offering the help free of charge .

Please wait till/if it occurs to tell me that i am wrong

OF COURSE he offers it for free!

He is a #$@%^& billionaire and he will not write a bill afterwards!

Only the dumbest of the dumb would expect that to happen!

It will be free, of course, but yes the government *do* have the "millions of dollars" needed to cover a bill if one was created (which there won't be). We're not in Ethiopia.

a nice submersible would be nice.

30 minutes ago, greenchair said:

I can't imagine the Thai government being able to pay for all that. Nowhere in the text does he say he's offering it for free. So if it is for free, that's wonderful though probably not a likely solution. But if it's not for free, then his company would be looking for millions of dollars from the misery of children and he should just sod off. 

Who cares about money at the moment .

Just get the kids out and sort everything out later .

I shouldnt think that either Thailand or Musk are concerned about the cost

5 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Who cares about money at the moment .

Just get the kids out and sort everything out later .

I shouldnt think that either Thailand or Musk are concerned about the cost

Did you read what he is offering. 

My building contracter says that all the time. 

Build first let's talk about cost later. 

Fool me once. 

You are funny sanemax. 

3 minutes ago, greenchair said:

Did you read what he is offering. 

My building contracter says that all the time. 

Build first let's talk about cost later. 

Fool me once. 

You are funny sanemax. 

Do you seriously think Elon Musk would charge money for his help? Just imagine the negative press this would generate for him and his companies? Of course he's offering it for free!!

6 minutes ago, greenchair said:

Did you read what he is offering. 

My building contracter says that all the time. 

Build first let's talk about cost later. 

Fool me once. 

You are funny sanemax. 

Oh, we are talking about your building contractor, are we .

I agree , get a price agreement with your building contractor , if he tricked you before , he may do it again .

Well, if Thailand is asking people to donate free dive mask, others can make a business out of this also.

52 minutes ago, greenchair said:

I can't imagine the Thai government being able to pay for all that. Nowhere in the text does he say he's offering it for free. So if it is for free, that's wonderful though probably not a likely solution. But if it's not for free, then his company would be looking for millions of dollars from the misery of children and he should just sod off. 

 

I expect it would be for free, it would be very odd to contact them otherwise.

33 minutes ago, rwdrwdrwd said:

It will be free, of course, but yes the government *do* have the "millions of dollars" needed to cover a bill if one was created (which there won't be). We're not in Ethiopia.

and something we  cant comment on also has  Billions

I see Business Insider seems to an origin of this story.

 

Apparently Musk was asked on Twitter about the kids in the cave and said he was happy to help. Musk's tweeting quadrupled in April and May, and most of it was replies rather than original posts.

 

According to the same website, authorities are running a fibre-optic cable into the cave so the boys 'can get on the internet'.

 

59 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I see Business Insider seems to an origin of this story.

 

Apparently Musk was asked on Twitter about the kids in the cave and said he was happy to help. Musk's tweeting quadrupled in April and May, and most of it was replies rather than original posts.

 

According to the same website, authorities are running a fibre-optic cable into the cave so the boys 'can get on the internet'.

 

Makes me think, if they can run a fibre optic cable surely they could run an air line with oxygen pumped through it. There must be some kind of suit that could be attached to one so they could be pushed or pulled along with a constant air supply, rather than trying to teach them advanced scuba diving.

 

Or at the very least use it to ensure they have enough oxygen. Or to create some kind of inflatable structure they could be enclosed in to reduce the impact of rising water.

 

They could even run a fibre optic cable within it.

 

Obviously a complete pie in the sky idea, but if they can pull a fibre optic cable to them then surely they could pull other lines. I'd assumed the distance, indirect passage and accumulated weight made pulling a cable impossible, but seems that might not be the case.

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

I see Business Insider seems to an origin of this story.

 

Apparently Musk was asked on Twitter about the kids in the cave and said he was happy to help. Musk's tweeting quadrupled in April and May, and most of it was replies rather than original posts.

 

According to the same website, authorities are running a fibre-optic cable into the cave so the boys 'can get on the internet'.

 

You do know that their air is depleting to dangerous levels as we speak. 

The threat of monsoon rains is imminent and the whole cave might fill with water at any moment. 

Not to mention that almost none of them can swim so if either of above happened they could be gone in moments. 

But don't you worry about any of that. 

Let's get them on the Internet for a live show of the whole disaster . 

?

He might have some pumps from the Boring Company, but getting them here .. would take a very long time.

9 minutes ago, greenchair said:

You do know that their air is depleting to dangerous levels as we speak. 

The threat of monsoon rains is imminent and the whole cave might fill with water at any moment. 

Not to mention that almost none of them can swim so if either of above happened they could be gone in moments. 

But don't you worry about any of that. 

Let's get them on the Internet for a live show of the whole disaster . 

?

I understand what you're saying and agree.

That was the point of my placing the website's quote in single inverted commas, - 'can get on the internet'  - do we even know if that is correct?

It perhaps might only be for the boys to speak to their parents - which I see as more understandable.

 

OMG the sceptical pessimists return.......?

He's talking on twitter very recently about using an inflatible nylon fabric type 'tube', says it will displace the water and keep it dry and full of air like a bouncy castle with pumps keeping it inflated.

He's talking on twitter very recently about using an inflatible nylon fabric type 'tube', says it will displace the water and keep it dry and full of air like a bouncy castle with pumps keeping it inflated.

Great idea but it’s needed like yesterday!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

5 minutes ago, DILLIGAD said:

Great idea but it’s needed like yesterday!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

...and it could be here by tomorrow...

20 minutes ago, ukrules said:

He's talking on twitter very recently about using an inflatible nylon fabric type 'tube', says it will displace the water and keep it dry and full of air like a bouncy castle with pumps keeping it inflated.

Exactly what I was thinking of at https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1046589-billionaire-elon-musk-offers-help-for-cave-13/?do=findComment&comment=13145580 I should ping him for a job ?

It does make total sense, protects from rising water and guarantees an air supply. The difficult bit I suspect would be hooking up the pumps, but if they can get fibre optic lines through then they should also be able to get an air supply through.

Elon Musk Sends Team to Thailand to Help in Cave Rescue : Bloomberg

 

 

Elon Musk is sending a team of engineers to Thailand to explore ways to help rescue 12 young footballers and their coach having been trapped in a cave in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.

 

In his twitter; Musk wrote : Elon Musk is sending a team of engineers to Thailand to explore ways to help rescue 12 young footballers and their coach having been trapped in a cave in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.

 

Bloomberg said the billionaire’s firms could assist by trying to pinpoint the boys’ precise location using Space Exploration Technologies Corp or Boring Co technology, pumping water or providing heavy-duty battery packs known as Tesla Inc Powerwalls, Musk’s spokesman for Musk said earlier. The missing team members who had been missing since last month were found by a pair of British cave divers late Monday. Efforts to rescue them are hampered by narrow passageways and rising waters in the cave system. Most of the boys cannot swim.

The paper reported that last year, after a devastating hurricane hit Puerto Rico, the government there asked Musk for help. Tesla sent Powerwalls and provided advice on rebuilding the Caribbean island’s infrastructure.

 

Over the past couple days, Musk posited possible ways his companies could help in Thailand. “I suspect that the Thai govt has this under control, but am happy to help if there is a way to do so,” he wrote on Twitter.

 

Musk’s tunneling startup Boring Co. could potentially make available its massive drills or excavation expertise, but such an approach could be too dangerous for this mission.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30349483

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-06

1 hour ago, greenchair said:

You do know that their air is depleting to dangerous levels as we speak. 

The threat of monsoon rains is imminent and the whole cave might fill with water at any moment. 

Not to mention that almost none of them can swim so if either of above happened they could be gone in moments. 

But don't you worry about any of that. 

Let's get them on the Internet for a live show of the whole disaster . 

?

I would have thought getting oxygen line to them was more important than Internet but communication may keep their spirits up... Facebook too

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

I understand what you're saying and agree.

That was the point of my placing the website's quote in single inverted commas, - 'can get on the internet'  - do we even know if that is correct?

It perhaps might only be for the boys to speak to their parents - which I see as more understandable.

 

Oh sorry, my mistake. 

Well said then. 

The billionaire offer to me seems a bit pointless. We know where they are. 

We don't need power packs to power a whole city. And the machinery he's talking about would take months to organise and transport. 

1 hour ago, greenchair said:

You do know that their air is depleting to dangerous levels as we speak. 

The threat of monsoon rains is imminent and the whole cave might fill with water at any moment. 

Not to mention that almost none of them can swim so if either of above happened they could be gone in moments. 

But don't you worry about any of that. 

Let's get them on the Internet for a live show of the whole disaster . 

?

 

Quote

• The oxygen supply in the cave has dropped to 15%. Normal oxygen levels in the air are about 21%. The presence of hundreds of rescue workers inside the cave has been depleting the air supply the boys have been relying on.
• Officials are desperately trying to lay down a pipe that can carry air into the cave where the boys are in case they become trapped by raising water during the monsoon season.

 

Its not like they are not working on the airline and there are hundreds of people there helping, I expect they can also lay a fibre optic, which would not be about making a live show but about getting them in communication with their families to lift their spirits, something that could make all the difference at this stage.

5 minutes ago, greenchair said:

Oh sorry, my mistake. 

Well said then. 

The billionaire offer to me seems a bit pointless. We know where they are. 

We don't need power packs to power a whole city. And the machinery he's talking about would take months to organise and transport. 

 

The power packs are an option that he suggested could help if there is a power shortage on site limiting the amount of pumps being used, I don't think that's an issue though as the big pumps are diesel powered.

The scanning is not about locating the boys, it is about assessing the suitability for drilling, and the rigs would take 3 weeks if they put on a ship, 24 hours if on a plane, it would only take months if you sent them by sail ship.

9 minutes ago, greenchair said:

Oh sorry, my mistake. 

Well said then. 

The billionaire offer to me seems a bit pointless. We know where they are. 

We don't need power packs to power a whole city. And the machinery he's talking about would take months to organise and transport. 

We don't know exactly where they are from the top

The ground xray machine would be useful to pinpoint their exact location in case airhole needs to be drilled