The Boring Company’s initial Test Tunnel, located in Hawthorne, Calif., was unveiled Tuesday. The tunnel is being used for the research and development of the Boring Company’s tunneling and public transportation systems.
The company also released footage of a Tesla Model X being lowered into the tunnel on an elevator, fixed on rails to speed through the neon-lit tunnel, then being lifted by an elevator on the other side.
The Boring Company Loop system pic.twitter.com/xVpDHzZKXB
— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) December 19, 2018
Musk said at the tunnel opening that the company has traveled as fast as 110 mph, but it’s still “a little scary.” Ultimately, the company believes it can transport vehicles at over 150 mph.
The current first leg of the tunnel starts in the SpaceX parking lot east of Crenshaw Boulevard and south of 120th Street, turns west under 120th Street, and remains under 120th Street for up to 2-miles.
“You can weave the boring system tunnel network into the fabric of a city without changing the character of the city. The city will still feel the same,” Musk said.
Musk’s grand plan is to build a network of connected tunnels for high-speed transportation to “solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic.”
Musk said in May that the Boring Company will partner with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to build an underground transportation system called “Loop.” The system would consist of different levels and lanes and carry up to 16 passengers in pods that would travel at speeds up to 150 mph. Musk said passengers could go from downtown L.A. to Los Angeles International Airport in eight minutes. In addition to the tunnel in California, the company is also working on an East Coast route and a tunnel to connect Chicago’s downtown with O’Hare Airport.