Chapter 47: Open-Loop Warning: 2018

In 2018, Elon Musk becomes involved in the Thai cave rescue operation, designing and building a mini-submarine to help extract a trapped youth soccer team. The chapter documents his engineering effort and the vehicle's deployment as rescue teams prepare for the dangerous extraction.

During the summer of 2018, after a youth soccer team and their coach become trapped in the Tham Luang cave in Thailand, Musk directs his teams at SpaceX and the Boring Company to design and manufacture a small submarine capable of navigating the cave's narrow passages and extracting the boys. Working at an accelerated pace, engineers develop a sleek torpedo-shaped craft from a Falcon 9 rocket segment, equipped with lights, cameras, and a life-support system. As international rescue efforts intensify, the Prime Minister of Thailand inspects Musk's mini-submarine, observing its potential to aid the extraction. The chapter captures the tension and urgency of the operation as the device is prepared to enter the cave system where thirteen lives hang in the balance. Musk's hands-on involvement and willingness to mobilize his companies' resources for a real-world humanitarian crisis are central to this moment.