Lists why he likes tunnels: fast 3D travel, immune to weather, quiet.
"Reasons I like tunnels: you still travel in 3D fast, but immune to weather, quiet and no risk cars fall on your head"
Can the Boring Company solve traffic?
Q12929 answers2015-2026
Short answer
He said tunnels create a wormhole from one part of a city to another to alleviate traffic.
All 29 answers, oldest to newest
2015 · 1 answer
2016 · 1 answer
Says traffic is driving him nuts and he will build a tunnel boring machine and start digging.
"Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging..."
2017 · 3 answers
He said he was optimistic tunnelling can be improved by at least fivefold, maybe tenfold.
"But I'm actually quite optimistic that tunneling can be improved by at least five fold, maybe tenfold."
He said you have to go 3D, probably down, and use hyperloop-type ideas for longer distances.
"So you have to go 3D either up or down, and I think probably down"
Says public transit has not solved traffic, and multi-level tunnels can, but only with much faster and cheaper tunnelling.
"Multi-level tunnels can solve this, but we need much better tunneling technology, as it is currently super slow and expensive."
2018 · 12 answers
Says the Boring Co loop would have thousands of parking-space-sized stations instead of a few big subway stations.
"Boring Co urban loop system would have 1000’s of small stations the size of a single parking space that take you very close to your destination & blend seamlessly into the fabric of a city, rather than a small number of big stations like a subway"
Says Boring Company tunnels and Hyperloop will prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over cars.
"Adjusting The Boring Company plan: all tunnels & Hyperloop will prioritize pedestrians & cyclists over cars"
Describes his tunnel transport as a 150 mph underground, autonomous, electric bus.
"I guess you could say it’s a 150 mph, underground, autonomous, electric bus that automatically switches between tunnels and lifts. So, yes, a bus."
He said tunnels are the only way he could think of to address chronic traffic in major cities.
"And we think this is the only way that we can think of to address chronic traffic issues in major cities."
He said in theory you can have hundreds of levels of tunnel and solve any level of traffic.
"So you could in theory can have like hundreds of levels of tunnel and arbitrarily solve any level of traffic."
He said the keys are figuring out how to tunnel fast, safely and at a reasonable cost.
"Anyway, so the keys are we got to figure out how tunnel fast, safely and at a cost that's not crazy."
Says the Boring Company will use tunnel dirt to make bricks for low-cost housing.
"The Boring Company will be using dirt from tunnel digging to create bricks for low cost housing"
In May 2018 he said the DC-to-NY tunnel had started and he hoped to start LA to SF the next year, as a true Hyperloop.
"Hopefully start LA to SF next year. That will be true @Hyperloop w pressurized pods in near vacuum tunnels & faster than jetliner."
Says Boring Company Hyperloop will take people from city centre to a spaceport in 10 to 15 minutes.
"Boring Company Hyperloop will take you from city center under ground & ocean to spaceport in 10 to 15 mins"
He said the thing about tunnels is you can go 3D underground.
"But the thing about tunnels is that you can go 3D underground."
He said we need to build tunnels way faster and for a lot less money.
"We need to be able build tunnels way faster and for a hell of lot less money."
He said the probability of something falling on your head is much higher with lots of flying cars.
"And the probability of something falling on your head if there are a bunch of flying cars around is much higher than if there are not."
2019 · 1 answer
Says efforts to solve big-city traffic haven’t worked; without trying something new, traffic hell forever.
"The objective reality for large cities worldwide is that efforts to solve traffic have not worked well. If we don’t try *something* new, we will be in traffic hell forever."
2020 · 2 answers
He says we should invest in the transportation of the future, not of the past.
"we really need to be thinking about what is the transportation of the future, not the transportation of the past."
Says tunnels are the solution to traffic: you can have as many levels as you want, even in New York or Beijing.
"Tunnels are the solution to traffic. You can have as many levels as you want."
2021 · 6 answers
Says Boring Company road tunnels under Miami would solve traffic.
"@boringcompany road tunnels under Miami would solve traffic & be an example to the world."
He says the world needs tunnels because all major cities have traffic.
"the world really needs tunnels because all major cities have traffic."
He says there are still tremendous opportunities in tunneling.
"I think there are still tremendous opportunities in tunneling."
He says drawing a vacuum in a tunnel would allow travel faster than a plane or high-speed rail.
"if you just draw a vacuum on the tunnel then you can go extremely fast."
He says the Boring Company started half as a joke and has now done its first operational tunnel in Vegas.
"we just did our first operational tunnel in Vegas."
Says it’s either traffic forever or tunnels.
"It’s either traffic forever or tunnels."
2023 · 1 answer
He says the Boring Company has the most advanced tunnelling machine and that regulatory approval is by far its biggest constraint.
"The thing that is the biggest inhibitor of Boring Company by far is regulatory approval."
2025 · 1 answer
He said tunnels create a wormhole from one part of a city to another to alleviate traffic.
"And by using tunnels you can essentially create like a wormhole, like a warp tunnel from one part of a city to another and alleviate traffic."
2026 · 1 answer
Says autonomous cars will increase total miles traveled and slow transit times, so a network of multi-level tunnels will be needed.
"That’s why we will need a network of multi-level tunnels, which can alleviate any amount of traffic."