By itself, vehicle electrification does nothing to alleviate the traffic jams in our cities or the sprawl in our suburbs. But autonomous EVs, working together as part of a coordinated public transit system, could move people around much more smoothly and conveniently.

Naturally, Elon Musk has thought about this – he has called gridlock “a soul-destroying thing.” The Seer of Silicon Valley recently hinted that he is working on a self-driving vehicle that could replace city buses, perhaps complementing the intercity Hyperloop to provide last-mile transport.

“We have an idea for something which is not exactly a bus but would solve the density problem for inner-city situations,” Musk said at a transport conference in Norway. “Autonomous vehicles are key.” He declined to provide any details.

“I very much agree with solving the high-density urban transport problem,” Musk said. “There’s a new type of car or vehicle that would be great for that and that’ll actually take people to their final destination and not just the bus stop.”

Source: Bloomberg