Elon Musk's Boring Company to unveil tunnel project in Nashville
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A Tesla enters a tunnel by The Boring Company in Las Vegas. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Elon Musk's The Boring Company and Tennessee state officials will announce plans for an underground tunnel connecting downtown Nashville to the airport along Murfreesboro Pike at a press event Monday.
State of play: The project will begin with startling speed, according to sources briefed on the plan. The goal is to begin work on the tunnel in the days shortly after the announcement, which is notable because aspirational Boring Company projects in other cities have been slow to launch.
- Sources say the state Building Commission will hold a meeting next week following Monday's announcement to give the project the initial approval necessary to begin work.
- The plan is for work to begin at a state-owned lot downtown.
Why it matters: If successful, the tunnel will help solve a transportation problem confronting Nashville as the city's airport sets passenger records seemingly every year.
- The project is also Musk's foray into Nashville. Musk, who owns The Boring Company, is one of the world's richest and most recognizable businesspeople.
Dig in: Under the plan, Teslas would use the tunnel underground to taxi passengers between the airport and downtown.
- The Boring Company touts its state-of-the-art burrowing technology, which allows it to dig tunnels quickly.
- In Las Vegas, the company has already built an underground loop, with more tunnels under construction.
Zoom in: The tunnel's path would use state routes, extending from the airport to downtown along Murfreesboro Pike and heading north to the state capital.
Context: Nashville has long considered mass transit lines to the airport, including as part of the failed 2018 referendum.
The intrigue: The project creates a political hot potato for Mayor Freddie O'Connell and other Metro leaders.
- Musk is an unpopular figure with Democrats, and Metro is led mostly by Democrats. Metro Council members figure to take issue with the state plunging into such an impactful project without local approval.
- The project would rely primarily on state permission, since Murfreesboro Pike is a state road.
- It's unclear if Metro agencies would need to sign off on permits related to utility work, stormwater and emergency access for first responders.
"We are aware of the state's conversations with the Boring Company, and we have a number of operational questions to understand the potential impacts on Metro and Nashvillians," O'Connell told Axios in a statement.
Reality check: In Washington D.C., The Boring Company received initial government approval for a tunnel connecting the city to Baltimore, but those plans appear to have stalled.
Editor's note: This story was updated with a comment from the mayor.