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Comment and Technology

Elon Musk’s submarine plan to rescue Thai cave boys deserves respect

It's easy to mock Elon Musk's very public brand of techno-utopianism but the world needs engineering icons like him, says Mark Harris

By Mark Harris

11 July 2018

The rescue submarine designed by Elon Musk's engineers

The rescue submarine designed by Elon Musk’s engineers

@elonmusk

How long does it take to design and build a miniature submarine using leftover rocket parts? In a preposterous disaster movie where heroes are racing against time to rescue a dozen children trapped in a flooding cave, probably an hour or two. In reality, with Elon Musk racing against time to rescue a dozen children trapped in a flooding cave, it took just a little longer – a couple of days. Just as swift was the mocking response to his attempt to help. It was misplaced.

On 5 July, Musk started brainstorming…

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