Musk says tunnel plan OK’d.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk planning East Coast hyperloop tunnel that could link N.Y. to D.C. in 29 minutes
Even as Tesla readies for its vital Model 3 release, CEO Elon Musk has targeted another project — a massive hyperloop tunnel connecting New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
The mercurial tech CEO announced on social media Thursday he received verbal government approval to build underground transport along the country’s most densely populated corridor. Musk said a New York to D.C. route could take 29 minutes — as quick as a pizza delivery and faster than a direct flight.
Musk established The Boring Company to dig tunnels through Los Angeles congestion, which entraps Musk, his SpaceX employees and other Angelinos at all times. It’s Musk’s effort to establish a 3-D solution to traffic, and reduce costs by shrinking the diameter of tunnels and building them faster.
The company began drilling this year in the SpaceX parking lot in Hawthorne, Ca. It hasn’t
received permits to dig beyond its own backyard.
But the proclamation of faster East Coast travel was immediately greeted with joy from commuters enduring the daily chaos of Penn Station in New York.
But where will the tunnels go, exactly? The routes would transport commuters to metro centers, with up to a dozen stops and elevators in each city, Musk said.
“Right now, I think one of the most soul-destroying things is traffic,” Musk told an audience at a recent TED Talk. “It takes away so much of your life. It’s horrible. It’s particularly horrible in L.A.”
Digging along the corridor would pass through at least four states — that means four governors, state legislatures, multiple mayors, town boards and endless community groups. And don’t forget New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who’s demonstrated a truculence toward commuters in the past.
Musk acknowledged support would be “much appreciated.”
Bay Area commuters may have to wait for Musk’s underground traffic solution. Musk sketched out a construction schedule: the first set of tunnels go through L. A., with digging on the East Coast corridor at the same time. Later, he wrote, the company could dig a line from L. A to San Francisco and run a Texas loop.