Elon Musk announced Sunday that the first tunnel of a proposed underground transportation network across
Los Angeles County would open Dec. 10.
“The first tunnel is almost done,” Musk wrote to his 23.1 million followers shortly after 5 p.m.
Musk’s
The Boring Company is building the tunnel beneath the city of Hawthorne, part of his grand vision for a transportation network that whisks commuters across the county.
The company has said its technology could move drivers, as well as pods carrying passengers and bicyclists, through tunnels at speeds of up to 130 mph.
A video simulation released by the company last year shows a driver steering onto a car-sized platform on the street, parallel to the curb. The platform, called a skate, sinks like an elevator, then carries the car through the tunnel.
In subsequent tweets Musk said there would be an opening event on the night of the 10th and free rides for the public the next day.
When asked if the Dec. 10 date represented real time or “Elon time,” the entrepreneur wrote, “I think real.”
In April, the Los Angeles City Council’s public works committee unanimously approved an environmental review exemption for a Boring Co. tunnel that could run 2.7 miles through West Los Angeles.
The proposed route would be parallel to Sepulveda Boulevard, starting at Pico Boulevard and running down to Washington Boulevard in Culver City.
The tunnel entrance would be located in what is currently a lumber yard and welding area, the company has said.
However, just a few weeks later, two neighborhood groups sued L.A. over the waiver, blocking the tunnel’s progress.
In August, Musk announced a proposal to build a 3.6-mile tunnel that would carry fans between Dodger Stadium and a nearby Metro subway station.
But this plan is expected to face a thicket of requirements and approvals from regulators in California and Washington, D.C., before construction could even begin.