For a venture that even Elon Musk admits “started out as a joke,” the Boring Company is on the move, with CEO Musk tweeting this week that its first project is due for testing shortly.
A subsidiary of SpaceX, the Boring Company was born of Musk’s frustration with “soul destroying” traffic along the busy streets of his Los Angeles area commute. It intends to create a series of high-speed transit tunnels in a far more efficient fashion than current methods, specifically by reducing digging time by a factor of ten. Boring says that once hyperloop technology is ready, the tunnels can be compatible with the 600+ MPH transit system. In the meantime, cars loaded with either passengers or automobiles would travel between 125-150 MPH.
According to Musk’s Twitter account, the company’s first tunnel – in SpaceX’s home base of Hawthorne, California – is nearing completion and it should be ready for testing by December 10th of this year.
The potential viability of this privately-funded infrastructure project should become clearer as testing commences. Musk said the company will hold a public event when the tunnel is completed and also offer free rides the following day, where test-goers will be able to ride along the two-mile stretch at a speed of 155 MPH.
Other Boring Company tunnel projects underway include those in Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as a 35-mile span between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Musk has said in the past that fares could be as low as $1 per person.
Image Credit: The Boring Company