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Tesla Founder Buys James Bond’s Lotus Submarine, Plans To Make It Reality

Elon Musk, the visionary behind Tesla Motors, SpaceX, PayPal and plans for a new high-speed transport system, is back in the spotlight with a new project. News has surfaced this week that James Bond's famous Lotus Esprit-cum-submarine, sold last mo


Elon Musk, the visionary behind Tesla Motors, SpaceX, PayPal and plans for a new high-speed transport system, is back in the spotlight with a new project.

News has surfaced this week that James Bond's famous Lotus Esprit-cum-submarine, sold last month at auction, was purchased by Musk for a total of around US$966,560. 

That's a fat bit of change to drop on a non-functioning film prop, but it turns out that Musk has no intention of leaving it that way. And who could be surprised?

"It was amazing as a little kid in South Africa to watch James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me drive his Lotus Esprit off a pier, press a button and have it transform into a submarine underwater," Musk said today.

"I was disappointed to learn that it can't actually transform. What I'm going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real."

Musk's new Lotus is just one of a handful built for the film, each prepared for a specific shot in the scene. 

Because the Lotus 'submarine' wasn't a true powered submersible, the prop was moved along by a diver in full scuba gear. 

Time will tell if Musk can successfully carry out his mission to turn the sub into a true transformer, but as the real world's equivalent to Tony Stark (you know him as Iron Man), he might be just the man for the job. 

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