In sci.space.tech George William Herbert wrote:
Charles Talleyrand wrote:
Is this also correct: you do not believe that concepts like ORTAG are
the way to go? Why? I have to admit the concept appeals to me.
snip
Though, I have to say, the BDB implications of some of
the composite technologies which are now beginning to
see the light of day have not been openly fully evaluated
to date, and the possible implications for BDBs of cheap
carbon nanotube composites abound as well, so ruling out
magic is perhaps premature ;-)

If you take the question as stated, it kind of implies that if nanotube
composites are available cheaply, then they will be only a modest
amount stronger than conventional composites.
Once you start to get above 5-10* the state of the art, and hit 30-60Gpa
(200GPa is around the ultimate theoretical limit of nanotubes) space
elevators start looking almost easy.

At the upper end of that range, the ratio of tether to maximum payload
is getting towards single digits, and you can bootstrap in a year or so
(assuming adequate composite) from 1 ton to a million ton payloads.