Elon Musk’s Boring Company Has Plans for Future Tunnel Projects

For those who rely on public transportation in city environments, commuting to different places in a city can be a hassle. Whether it’s a short or long distance, public transportation is prone to weather delays, malfunctions, and other problems.

Cities like New York City and San Francisco are notorious for frequently having issues with their public transportation services. In early September, New Yorkers suffered the harsh impacts of Hurricane Ida. Many New Yorkers were reportedly upset with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for not being prepared for the hurricane, which resulted in flooding, fires, and train delays and suspensions across the city.

Outside of public transportation, driving on the road can often result in traffic delays, especially when going to work and coming home. Cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta are known for traffic congestion. With hover cars not being readily available, there are very few alternatives to public and road transportation. However, Elon Musk and one of his companies are looking to change that.

Founded by Musk in 2016, The Boring Company provides infrastructure and tunnel services and creates high-speed transportation. Utilizing tunnels, the Loop project uses Tesla cars for an underground transportation system that’s all-electric and produces zero emissions. The Tesla models will be able to travel up to 150 miles per hour, which is more than twice the speed of conventional subway cars, according to the company.

The Boring Company states that its Loop system at the Las Vegas Convention Center is designed for 4,400 passengers per hour, while its Vegas Loop project targets 51,00 passengers per hour. The Boring Company says that the tunnels are the safest places to be if there's an earthquake. Another safety measure is that because there’s a small number of passengers in each vehicle, it reduces the risk of airborne diseases.

Although they seem to compete heavily against each other in the space industry, when it comes to high-speed transportation, Sir Richard Branson and Musk have worked together. The Boring Company built tunnels for Virgin Hyperloop’s transportation system. Instead of using cars like the Loop project, Virgin Hyperloop uses vacuum technology to push pods at high speeds of up to potentially 500 miles per hour. After successful practice launches with people inside, Virgin hopes to acquire the safety certifications necessary to build commercial projects by 2025.

Texas officials from San Antonio and Austin have discussed tunnel projects with The Boring Company, according to Yahoo. Among other routes, a 10-mile loop between downtown San Antonio and San Antonio International Airport has been in discussions.

The Boring Company is nearing an agreement to provide tunnels for Fort Lauderdale in Florida, according to Florida Insider. After the deadline for other companies to submit competing proposals, The Boring Company will enter exclusive negotiations with Fort Lauderdale officials. The proposal includes two tunnels traveling in opposite directions. The tunnel will go from Fort Lauderdale to the beach, which is 2.5 miles away.