The Boring Company is one of Elon Musk ‘s companies and contrary to its name, it is anything but boring. Since its foundation in 2016, the company has been working on the development of a tunnel system that helps solve the severe traffic problems of large cities and that allows the agile transportation of passengers and goods from one place to another. To achieve its goal, the company has managed to raise $675 million in a series C financing round .
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The company’s goal is to forever eradicate traffic through the Loop , a transportation system that will move passengers at high speeds underground. Initially, Musk’s company claimed that the system could reach speeds of up to 200 km/h, although in the tests it has carried out it has only managed to reach 80 km/h.
According to the company’s official website , to solve current traffic problems “roads must be in 3D, which means that flying cars or tunnels are needed. Unlike flying cars, tunnels are weatherproof, out of sight, and won’t fall on your head. The tunnels minimize the use of valuable surface land and do not conflict with existing transportation systems. A large network of tunnels can relieve congestion in any city; no matter how big it grows, more levels of tunnels can always be added.”
In October 2021, The Boring Company received approval to build a first tunnel network of 46 kilometers under the city of Las Vegas with various stations, including some on the casino strip.
Following the capital investment, The Boring Company is valued at $5.6 billion .
What are Loop and Prufrock?
The vehicle that will move through the tunnels is called Loop and is 100% electric, very similar to a Tesla. Unlike the subway, where a convoy stops at each of the stations, this vehicle will make no stops and will take passengers directly to their final destination. According to the company, the Las Vegas project could transport 57,000 passengers per hour (with 57 stations distributed throughout the tunnel network).
Prufrock is the machinery created by The Boring Company to dig tunnels at a rate of 1.6 kilometers per week. This technology would allow the company to build a network of tunnels in a matter of weeks, unlike traditional subway excavations that can take several years to complete.