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Tesla CEO Elon Musk Buys James Bond Lotus; Plans on Upgrading Submarine Vehicle Himself

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Elon Musk, who'd recently made headlines as CEO of the commercial space company Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is attempting to expand transportation in a different direction. Through the corporation that made him his billions - Tesla Motors - Musk is reportedly converting a submarine Lotus once used in a James Bond movie into an actual submarine vehicle, according to CNN.

Musk and Tesla originally kept their purchase of the Lotus a secret when it sold at auction to an anonymous buyer for around a million dollars in September, CNN reported (This is apparently typical practice in car auctions.) That mystery was solved Thursday night when a Tesla spokeswoman announced her company's ownership of the vehicle.

It's difficult to say how serious Musk was when he expressed "disappointment" about the car's lack of actual underwater capabilities, but, according to CNN, he's very serious about converting it into a true submarine vehicle.

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

The former Penn grad, whom every current and past student wishes to work for, and his crew will have to upgrade several "misleading" features of the Lotus. It contains no steering wheel, the fins don't retract, and movement is created by a series of levers, according to CNN.

Tesla will have to seal the vehicle unless Musk doesn't mind getting a little wet. The Lotus has the unfortunate distinction of  being a "wet submarine", meaning the car fills with water and the driver will need an air tank to breathe, CNN reported. The dry version from the movie was created by special effects.

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