Cuomo Wants Tesla To Help Fix The Subway: Reports

NEW YORK — After bringing in outside experts to avert the dreaded L train shutdown, Gov. Andrew Cuomo reportedly wants Tesla's help in revitalizing the crumbling subway system, news reports say. The governor reportedly said he reached out to Elon Musk's high-tech automaker for ideas about upgrading the subways' outdated signals, which are a frequent cause of delays.

"I don’t believe a time where they’re talking about flying cars and you can get into a car and drive 100 miles on the (Long Island Expressway) and never touch the steering wheel, that there’s not a better technology that can regulate the trains," Cuomo told reporters on a Friday conference call, according to NBC News.

Cuomo discussed his contact with Tesla a day after he announced a new repair plan for the L line that would not halt service for 15 months as the MTA had expected. The surprise move came less than four months before the shutdown's scheduled start in April.

The governor reportedly did not consult Tesla about that particular project. But he did ask the multibillion-dollar company about technology that could help the city's trains run more efficiently, according to reports.

"I called Tesla … I said, 'How can this be that we can't have technology that can monitor the proximity of subway cars all on the same track to move them faster together?'" the governor said, according to Crain's New York Business.

Tesla and Cuomo already have something of a relationship. The company reportedly makes solar roofing tiles at a massive plant in Buffalo that was part of the governor's "Buffalo Billion" economic development initiative.

But Tesla has encountered rough waters in recent months. Musk agreed to step down as its chairman in September after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged him with fraud (though he is still its chief executive). The firm's stock price fell 7.2 percent Wednesday after it announced it would cut vehicle prices, the Associated Press reported.

(Lead image: The Tesla name is seen at a dealership in Miami, Florida on Jan. 3, 2019. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)