The Boring Company (TBC) is an American infrastructure, tunnel construction service, and equipment company founded by Elon Musk. TBC was founded as a subsidiary of SpaceX in 2017, and was spun off as a separate corporation in 2018. The original Las Vegas Convention Center Loop (1.7 miles, three stations) opened in 2021. By late 2026 the Vegas Loop had expanded to roughly 14 operational stations (including Resorts World, Encore, Westgate, Fontainebleau, and Sahara) and had carried more than 4 million passengers. Clark County has approved up to 68 miles and more than 100 stations. A roughly two-mile Paradise Road twin-tunnel section was expected to open before the November 2026 Formula 1 race. The company has tested self-driving operation with a safety driver present. In September 2026 TBC raised a $3 billion Series D that valued the company at $23 billion.
Many other TBC projects in cities across the United States were announced, but subsequently became inactive or were canceled.
History
Elon Musk discusses the Boring Company at TED 2017.
Musk first announced the idea of the Boring Company in December 2016. It was registered as "TBC – The Boring Company" on January 11, 2017. Musk cited Los Angeles traffic and the limits of a two-dimensional road network as his inspiration for the project. The Boring Company was originally formed as a SpaceX subsidiary, but it was spun out into a separate corporate entity in 2018. According to Musk, the company's goal is to build a much faster tunneling machine, one that digs ten times faster for a fraction of the cost, and to use it to dig a vast underground tunnel network for cars and high-speed trains.
Elon Musk speaking at the inauguration of the test tunnel in Hawthorne, California, December 2018
In 2018, the company raised about $113 million, more than 90 percent of it from Musk. Its sales of hats and flamethrowers raised about $1 million and $10 million. In July 2019, it authorized the sale of $120 million in stock, its first outside investment, which valued the company at about $920 million.
On December 18, 2018, the company unveiled a test tunnel about a mile long in Hawthorne, California. It had also planned a test tunnel in Los Angeles under Sepulveda Boulevard, but dropped it in November 2018 after settling a lawsuit from community groups, saying it would instead seek to build an operational tunnel at Dodger Stadium. Earlier, in June 2018, Chicago selected TBC's plan for a tunnel to connect downtown with O'Hare International Airport, but the plan stalled after Chicago's then-mayor, Rahm Emanuel, its biggest supporter, said he would not run for reelection in late 2018.
In May 2019, it won its first construction contract, a $48.6 million bid to build a tunnel and provide transportation under the Las Vegas Convention Center. The company had earlier shown 16-passenger electric vehicles and electric "skates" for its Loop system; by May 2019, Musk said the skate and wheel-guide ideas were dead and the cars would drive on their own tires. Asked on Twitter why he changed the plan, he replied, "This is simple and just works." The tunnel, 1.7 miles (2.7km) long, opened to the public in June 2021.
By November 2019, Steve Davis, one of Musk's early hires at SpaceX, had become company president. In November 2020, TBC announced it was hiring in Austin, Texas, and by December 2020 appeared to have taken industrial space in Pflugerville, a short drive from Giga Texas, according to filings.
In 2021, TBC removed its planned Dodger Stadium tunnel from its website, as well as another planned tunnel between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Both projects had been caught up in environmental review for several years.
In April 2022, the company announced an additional $675 million Series C funding round, valuing the company at approximately $5.675 billion. In September 2026 it raised a $3 billion Series D led by the United Arab Emirates and affiliated entities, valuing the company at $23 billion. The earlier Series C round was led by Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Valor Equity Partners, Founders Fund, 8VC, Craft Ventures, and DFJ Growth. In 2022, the company was cited by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for five violations of Texas environmental regulations.
By April 2023, the company's headquarters were in Bastrop, Texas.
In 2018, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said that "the Boring Company could be the way that we house people on Mars", and Musk said in 2017 that "getting good at digging tunnels could be really helpful for Mars", including for underground habitats.
Promotion
TBC has raised money by selling merchandise. In 2017 it sold 50,000 baseball caps at $20 each. In early 2018 it sold 20,000 "flamethrowers" at $500 each, raising $10 million. The Register described the device as "basically a glorified propane blowtorch". TBC also sold fire extinguishers for $30 and shipped one free with each flamethrower.
In 2021, TBC held a student tunnel-boring competition in Las Vegas. Officially named the Not-a-Boring Competition, the challenge was to "quickly and accurately drill a tunnel that was 30m-long (98ft) and 30cm-wide (0.98ft)". 12 finalist teams competed; the winner was TUM Boring from Technical University of Munich. A second competition was held in April 2023, this time in Texas with 5 finalists. TUM Boring again won, achieving a maximum velocity of 7mm/s (0.28in/s).
Machines
The boring machine in June 2019
Godot
TBC's first boring machine was Godot, a conventional tunnel boring machine (TBM) made by the Canadian company Lovat, which it leased from Super Excavators of Wisconsin.
Prufrock
After Godot and a second second-hand machine, Linestorm, the company built its own machine, Prufrock. Prufrock is designed to mine continuously, installing the tunnel liner while it digs, and is remotely controlled from the company's operations center in Bastrop, Texas. The company says the machines get frequent on-site upgrades, usually designed, made and installed within 48 hours. In 2022 the company said Prufrock could dig up to a mile of tunnel per week.
Prufrock MB1
Prufrock-MB ("Main Beam") is the hard-rock version of Prufrock, meant for rock strong enough to act as the tunnel lining itself. Prufrock-MB1 began tunnelling the limestone under Nashville for the Music City Loop in 2026.
Prufrock MB2
Prufrock-MB2 is the second hard-rock Prufrock used on the Music City Loop. It arrived in Nashville in late April 2026, and as of June 2026 it was being commissioned ahead of a planned June launch.
Prufrock MB3
In 2022 the company said its next-generation Prufrock would be able to dig up to seven miles per day. As of June 2026, Prufrock-MB3 was being built.
Liner Truck 3
Liner Truck 3, introduced in August 2026, is a fully electric, remotely piloted vehicle that carries concrete liner segments to the boring machine. It uses Tesla Model 3 battery and drive units, carries more than 22,000 pounds (10.0t) of segments, and has a range of 28 miles (45km) and a top operating speed of 12 miles per hour (19km/h).
"Porpoising" is meant to avoid digging large launch and retrieval pits. Prufrock arrives on a truck, tilts down and launches into the ground within 24 hours; at the end of the tunnel it comes back up to the surface and mines onto a trailer.
Tunnel lining
TBC introduced custom hexagonal tunnel-lining segments in its Porpoise Test 5 tunnel in Bastrop, Texas. TBC says Prufrock builds each tunnel ring fully autonomously: six concrete segments of about 3,750 lb each are lifted, translated and placed into final position in under a minute, monitored remotely from the company's Global OCC in Texas. Segments are carried to the machine by a fully electric, remotely piloted liner truck; the latest version, Liner Truck 3, uses Tesla Model 3 battery and drive units.
Continuous tunneling
Most soft-soil tunnel boring machines mine about five feet, stop, erect the precast concrete tunnel liner, and then start over. TBC says Prufrock is designed to install the liner while it mines, so the machine does not have to stop every five feet. In August 2024, NextBigFuture reported that Prufrock 3 and Prufrock 4 could tunnel only about 11 hours per day, citing maintenance and the stops to place concrete segments as limits.
Muck removal
TBC uses a continuous conveyor, the Vertical Cassette (VC), to transport excavated material ("muck") from the tunnel boring machine to the surface.
TBC says its latest version, VC7, introduced in August 2026, has a maximum muck conveyance rate of 990 tons/hour (with a 50% loaded belt) and supports a maximum TBM advance rate of 4 miles/week. The belt speed is 660 ft/minute and the minimum radius of curvature is 500 ft. TBC says "Belt Boosters" every 1.5 miles allow unlimited tunnel length.
The Hawthorne test tunnel, or Boring test tunnel, is a 1.14 miles (1.83km) tunnel in Hawthorne, California, intended for testing “tunneling and public transportation systems”, constructed between 2016 and 2018.
It was accompanied by a mile-long aboveground tube on nearby Jack Northrop Ave designed for testing hyperloop and loop-based transportation, which was used for student competitions in 2018 and 2019 before being dismantled in 2022.
The Vegas Loop, originally known as the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop (LVCC Loop), is a car tunnel system that serves the Las Vegas Convention Center, area hotels and attractions, and Harry Reid International Airport. Operating since 2021, the system uses Tesla Model Y vehicles to shuttle passengers among nine stations. The Boring Company began construction in November 2019 and has continued intermittent tunnel drilling for planned stations. When completed, the company projects that the Loop will include 68 miles of tunnels and 123 stations.
By October 2026 the Vegas Loop had 14 stations, including the original Las Vegas Convention Center stations and stops at Resorts World, Encore, Westgate, Fontainebleau, and Sahara, and had carried more than 4 million passengers, according to the company. At full build-out, the company plans 68 miles of tunnel and 123 stations, which Clark County and the City of Las Vegas have approved.
A roughly two-mile twin-tunnel extension under Paradise Road (University Center Loop), running between the Westgate and a site near UNLV at 4744 Paradise Road, was expected to open before the November 19–21, 2026 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. The extension was planned to add stations at 4744 Paradise, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, and a former Gordon Biersch site. Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill stated in October 2026 that both tunnels were expected to open simultaneously ahead of the race.
Rides are provided by Tesla vehicles. In October 2025 the company began offering some rides in self-driving Teslas with a safety driver on board, initially only between the Las Vegas Convention Center's Central Hall and Encore.
Dubai Loop
In February 2026, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and The Boring Company signed an agreement to begin building Dubai Loop, starting with a 6.4 km pilot route with four stations linking the Dubai International Financial Centre and Dubai Mall. The full network is planned to reach up to 22.2 km with 19 stations, and the RTA estimated the pilot would cost about AED 565 million and take around a year after design work is complete. The company said it aimed to begin tunnelling in the second half of 2026, and production of tunnel lining segments for the first phase was later reported to have begun. In September 2026, the company announced a $3 billion Series D round led by the United Arab Emirates and said it planned to build more than 150 km of tunnels across the UAE, in addition to Dubai Loop.
The Music City Loop is an under construction underground transit tunnel system in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, that would connect downtown Nashville to the Nashville International Airport (airport code: BNA). The Boring Company initially planned to complete the project in 2026 at the earliest.
The system is planned as an underground network of almost 25 miles connecting downtown Nashville (including the Music City Center and Lower Broadway), West End Avenue and Nashville International Airport. Tunneling began in February 2026. A permit and lease agreement with the Tennessee Department of Transportation authorizes about 25 miles of tunnel in state right-of-way.
As of early October 2026, Prufrock-MB1 and Prufrock-MB2 were tunneling at the same time, Prufrock-MB3 was scheduled to launch in late October 2026, and Prufrock-MB4 was under construction; the company aimed to have four machines operating by the end of the year. More than 40 stations were in planning or design, and the company said it had approvals for a connection at the airport, a downtown station near the Music City Center, and stations at residential towers and the JW Marriott.
In October 2026, a report commissioned by the Southern Environmental Law Center and written by Western Kentucky University hydrogeologist Chris Groves warned that tunneling through Nashville's limestone could cause sinkholes, flooding and trapped machines, and that the tunnel could run into contaminated groundwater. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation did not require a permit for the project based on the company's self-funded environmental assessment, which Nashville councilmember Clay Capp called "simply not serious". The company has also identified a new downtown launch site for its tunnel to the airport.
In November 2025, the Shingle Creek Transit and Utility Community Development District was reviewing bids for a multiphase, 4-to-5-mile transportation route linking the Epic Universe theme park with other Universal Orlando properties, with later phases reaching International Drive. On February 11, 2026, the district's board voted to begin contract negotiations with The Boring Company, one of three bidders, to design and build the system. News outlets described the concept as an underground system similar to the Vegas Loop, although the district's announcement did not mention tunnels. No contract has been finalized, and any final agreement would need board approval.
Inactive and cancelled projects
United States
Washington, DC to Baltimore, Maryland
In 2017, Musk announced plans to build a Hyperloop connecting Washington, DC to Baltimore. In October 2017, Maryland governor Larry Hogan said of the Hyperloop, "I think it's coming to Maryland and it's going to go from Baltimore to Washington, so get ready." Maryland officials granted a conditional permit for some of the work. The proposed route was a roughly 35-mile pair of tunnels, mostly following the Baltimore–Washington Parkway, for modified Tesla vehicles traveling at up to 150 mph. In 2019, a draft Environmental Assessment for the project was completed. As of 2021, the project was no longer listed on the company website, the federal government had received no indication the company wanted to move forward, TBC dropped a Maryland lobbyist it had hired for the project, and the company declined to comment on the project.
Chicago, Illinois
In March 2018, the company was one of two finalists to build a high-speed express link from downtown Chicago to O'Hare Airport (the Chicago Express Loop). In June 2018, the city selected the company to negotiate exclusively over the project, which would still need City Council approval. As of June 2021, a Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman said the plan had been dropped.
Los Angeles, California
In 2017, TBC proposed to develop a 2.7-mile-long (4.3km) test tunnel on a north–south alignment parallel to Interstate 405 and adjacent to Sepulveda Boulevard.:25:50 After neighborhood groups sued to require an environmental review, the company settled the lawsuit in November 2018 and dropped the plan. In August 2018, the company proposed a 3.6-mile (5.8km) tunnel called the "Dugout Loop" between Dodger Stadium and a Metro station along Vermont Avenue. As of June2021[update], the project had been removed from TBC's website.
San Jose, California
In February 2019, San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo said he was in talks with TBC about an underground link between San Jose International Airport and Diridon station, as an alternative to a traditional rail link estimated at about $800 million around five years earlier. Plans were later dropped.
San Bernardino County, California
In February 2021, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) in California voted unanimously to begin exclusive contract negotiations with TBC to build a 4-mile (6.4km) tunnel connecting the Ontario airport with the Rancho CucamongaMetrolink train station. However, after the SBCTA decided to have a third party study the project's impacts, TBC chose not to submit a proposal by the early-2022 deadline, according to an SBCTA spokesman. In July 2022, the SBCTA said it would continue the project without TBC doing all of the work. County supervisor and SBCTA board member Curt Hagman said the county would split the work into three phases, with "another company more familiar with the state's bureaucracy to do the Environmental Impact Report", and hoped to work with TBC on the later phases.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
In July 2021, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, accepted an unsolicited proposal from the Boring Company for a tunnel between downtown and the beach, to be called the "Las Olas Loop", and opened a 45-day period for competing proposals. In August 2021, the city was beginning final negotiations with TBC, and Mayor Dean Trantalis estimated the total cost of the 5-mile (8.0km) round-trip tunnel would be between $90 and $100 million, including stations. As of December 2022, the city suspended efforts to continue the project.
In February 2021, Miami mayor Francis Suarez revealed that Musk had proposed to dig a two-mile tunnel under the Miami River for $30 million, within a six-month timescale, compared with $1 billion over four years estimated by the local transit authority. Much of the savings would be achieved by simplifying ventilation systems and allowing only electric vehicles. As of November 2023, the city is waiting for the Miami Dade Transportation Planning Organization to complete an analysis of the project.
In January 2019, Musk responded to a tweet by an Australian member of parliament regarding a tunnel through the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney, suggesting costs of $750 million for a 31-mile (50km) tunnel, plus $50 million per station. New South Wales' transportation department found that based on the cost of the Hawthorne tunnel, the estimated cost would be closer to $6 billion.
Criticism
Civil engineering experts and tunneling industry veterans questioned whether TBC could render tunnels faster and cheaper than competitors. An editor's note in Tunnelling Journal dismissed Musk's Las Vegas tunnels as a "vanity project". Public transit consultant Jarrett Walker wrote that the tunnels' capacity was "so low that it couldn't possibly be relevant to the volume of travel in a big city".
Musk's planned tunnels were criticized for lacking such safety features as emergency exit corridors, ventilation systems, or fire suppression. In addition, the single lane tunnels left it impossible for vehicles to pass one another in the event of collision, mechanical failure, or other traffic obstruction, and instead would shut down the entire tunnel section.
James Moore, director of the transportation engineering program at the University of Southern California, said that "there are cheaper ways to provide better transportation for large numbers of people", for example by managing highway traffic with tolls. Walker also called TBC "wildly hyped", saying it "has dazzled city governments and investors with visions of an efficient subway where you never have to get out of your car" but "turns out to be a paved road tunnel".
12Chafkin, Max (February 16, 2017). "Elon Musk Is Really Boring". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
↑Copeland, Rob (December 17, 2018). "Elon Musk's New Boring Co. Faced Questions Over SpaceX Financial Ties". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018. When the Boring Co. was earlier this year spun into its own firm, more than 90% of the equity went to Mr. Musk and the rest to early employees, ... The Boring Co. has since given some equity to SpaceX as compensation for the help, ... about 6% of Boring stock, "based on the value of land, time and other resources contributed since creation of the company".
↑"Test Tunnel". The Boring Company. November 12, 2020. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
↑Artsy, Avishay (December 8, 2022). "Elon Musk's tunnels to nowhere". Vox. Retrieved August 7, 2025. In late 2016 … bought a machine and started boring a tunnel
↑Elon Musk, Steve Davis. The Boring Company Information Session (video). Leo Baeck Temple, Los Angeles, California: The Boring Company. Archived from the original on May 20, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018– via YouTube.
The Boring Company Information Session (video). 55 minutes, video of information session on the vision of the Boring Company and the project in Los Angeles, with Q&A.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
