The Boring Company is Musk’s tunnel-building and flamethrower-selling startup that is the backbone of SpaceX’s hyperloop plan. He shared an update on Instagram announcing that the first tunnel is “almost done” and “pending final regulatory approvals,” he will be offering the public free rides in the coming months. No word on how long that’s going to last.
Musk is building these tunnels for his Loop transportation system. When Musk first announced his intent to build a hyperloop to transport cars, he was met with criticism over it not being affordable to the public. The idea has since been reimagined to focus on mass transit.
Musk chose to build tunnels because of their versatility and because he believes they will solve traffic congestion issues.
“To solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic, roads must go 3D, which means either flying cars or tunnels. Unlike flying cars, tunnels are weatherproof, out of sight and won’t fall on your head. A large network of tunnels many levels deep would fix congestion in any city, no matter how large it grew (just keep adding levels). The key to making this work is increasing tunneling speed and dropping costs by a factor of 10 or more – this is the goal of The Boring Company. Fast to dig, low cost tunnels would also make Hyperloop adoption viable and enable rapid transit across densely populated regions, enabling travel from New York to Washington DC in less than 30 minutes.” — From The Boring Company’s website.
According to CNN The Boring Company has applied for a permit to build a 2.7-mile tunnel in western Los Angeles. But, the vision doesn’t end there. It’s also looking to build a 60-mile tunnel network that is being called “one of the largest subway networks in the United States.” Once all regulatory things are in order, Musk has said that bicycles and pedestrians will be prioritized — travelling in pods — and the cost of a ticket for them will be less than the cost of a bus ticket.
Let’s see what happens.
