Categories Technology

Elon Musk’s Boring Company could offer free underground tunnel rides in few months

On Thursday, Elon Musk posted on his Instagram account about the progress of his Boring Company’s first underground tunnel in Los Angeles along with a video footage of the tunnel. Musk said the work on the tunnel was almost done and after final regulatory approvals, the tunnel construction company would be able to offer free demo rides to the public in a few months.

The Boring Company that was established by the CEO of Tesla (TSLA) in December 2016 is building tunnels to provide infrastructure for the Hyperloop system that aims to transport cars and people via pods at very high speeds to reduce travel time drastically. The company is looking to build tunnels faster and at low costs by using improved tunneling methods. Musk believes that once the tunnel is fully functional, the cost of traveling through it would be cheaper than taking a bus.

A post shared by Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on

Last month, the Los Angeles City Council granted an environmental review exemption for a 2.7-mile tunnel through West LA, for the building and testing of the transportation system. The tunnel, which could be more than 60 feet under the ground, has no stations on its route and was given the exemption due to its short distance.

Musk said that work on a tunnel linking New York City and Washington DC had begun and that he expects the work on another tunnel between Los Angeles and San Francisco to start next year.

Despite Musk’s optimism, skeptics remain doubtful over the viability of the project. They believe the project at full scale will come under heavy inspection that could put it off schedule by several years. The political and environmental review processes are likely to take long.

Secondly, underground tunneling and construction tend to face many risks like major utility lines, old oil wells and earthquake faults. These come with their own set of dangers such as the risk of explosions. There are also issues with permits and permissions from property owners. All these could add up against the project, which may face more difficulties, as it is being undertaken by a private company as opposed to public agencies that are backed by the law.

Musk seems to have a supporter in Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, who recently stated that the Hyperloop would be ready for passengers in three years, ie. by 2021. Skeptics don’t buy this theory either.

Most Popular

ADBE Earnings: Adobe Q1 2024 revenue and profit beat estimates

Design software maker Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) on Thursday reported an increase in first-quarter 2024 revenue and earnings. The results also surpassed analysts' forecasts. First-quarter revenues came in at $5.18

Earnings Preview: FedEx (FDX) likely to report higher revenue and profit for Q3

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) delivered positive earnings performance and margin expansion in the first half of fiscal 2024, despite lower revenues. The cargo giant has been on a path of

Key takeaways from Dollar General’s (DG) Q4 2023 earnings report

Shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) fell over 4% on Thursday despite the company delivering better-than-expected earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2023. The top and bottom line numbers

Tags

Add Comment
Loading...
Cancel
Viewing Highlight
Loading...
Highlight
Close
Top