It is reported that according to the latest document, boring Co., a tunneling company under Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has proposed eight projects after moving to Texas. Before the end of the first year after the outbreak, musk did something many people were doing: move. Subsequently, several of his commercial venture capital projects also moved to Texas, including the tunneling company boring Co.
It is no surprise that boring Co., which had focused on California, suddenly focused on Texas. The latest public document highlights the ambition of boring Co. in Texas. In the past year, boring Co. representatives have promoted at least eight projects to Texas government officials. Of course, so far, these projects are still in the conceptual stage.
According to the documents, most of these projects will be carried out in the Austin area, near the headquarters of boring Co. in the suburb of pflugerville. These projects cover automobile transportation, underground water culvert and a sidewalk. Almost all of this has never been reported before.
Gulf of Mexico underwater tunnel
One of the first projects boring Co. seeks to develop in Texas is to build an underwater tunnel for cars near the Gulf of Mexico. Although boring Co. has never excavated under water of this size, it has promoted similar projects to Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. So far, boring Co. has not won the relevant contract, and an official in Texas seems not eager to take risks on this project.
Texas Super High Speed Rail Project
"Hyperloop" was an idea put forward by musk in 2013. At that time, he wanted to shorten the driving distance between Los Angeles and San Francisco to 35 minutes through "super high speed rail". Musk once urged engineers to build the system according to his specifications. Although some attempts have been made, they have not been successful.
Today, "super high speed rail" is still in the plan of boring Co. In June, 2021, the senior executives of boring Co. sent a company presentation marked as "confidential" to a transportation official in Texas by e-mail. The presentation said: "all circular tunnels are designed to meet the loading and sealing requirements of super high speed rail, allowing the speed to increase from 150 miles per hour to more than 600 miles per hour."
Tunnel between two main highways
In September last year, a senior executive of boring Co. asked a transportation official in Texas whether his agency would support a project to establish a new connection between the two main highways running through Austin (U.S. highway 290 and the Texas interstate loop). The next day, Texas officials answered the phone, but the document did not disclose the contents of the conversation.
Underground route connecting downtown Austin, airport and Tesla factory
So far, this project may be the most promising project of boring Co. in Texas. In November last year, senior executives of boring Co. met with Texas transportation officials, hoping to provide structural drawings, geotechnical data and depth information of various roads, focusing on the streets around the Tesla Texas automobile factory, as well as the streets near the airport and downtown.
Underground sidewalk of public high school
In January this year, boring Co. executives raised an idea: will the Texas Department of transportation help pay for the pedestrian tunnel from the school to the stadium? The total cost is about $3million, up to $5million. Texas transportation officials said he had forwarded the email to his colleagues.
A tunnel under a railway line
Mokan, an abandoned railway track near Austin, has long been the subject of debate among regional authorities. Boring Co. executives put forward an idea: how about building a tunnel? In February this year, boring Co. and the Texas Department of transportation held an online meeting to raise this issue.
Groundwater drainage
Boring Co. proposed two drainage systems in Texas, one of which is located in Austin and serves Interstate 35. The other is based in Houston, but has not yet applied.