Elon Musk
What Is The Boring Company? Elon Musk's Tunnels, Explained
The Boring Company is Elon Musk's tunneling venture aiming to beat traffic with underground loops. Here's what it does and what it has actually built.
The Boring Company is the tunneling venture founded by Elon Musk in 2016, with a deceptively simple pitch: beat traffic by going underground. The idea is that cars (or shuttles) could drop below the surface and travel through a network of tunnels, bypassing the gridlock above. The name is a pun — “boring” as in drilling, and as in dull. It’s one of the lesser-known entries in our guide to the companies Elon Musk owns.
The idea: beat traffic underground
Musk’s argument is that roads are stuck in two dimensions, so the fix is to build down. By drilling many layers of cheap, small-diameter tunnels, the company says it could move people across a city without surface congestion. To make that affordable, it has focused on lowering the cost and increasing the speed of tunnel boring itself.
What it has actually built
The flagship project is the Loop beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center, where passengers ride in Tesla vehicles through short tunnels between stops — a system that’s up and running. The company has approval to expand this into a wider Vegas Loop connecting hotels and venues across the city. Progress elsewhere has been slower, and several proposed projects in other cities were announced but not built.
Boring Company vs Hyperloop
People often confuse the two. Hyperloop is a separate concept — pods racing through near-vacuum tubes at airline speeds — that Musk proposed in a 2013 white paper but didn’t build himself. The Boring Company’s Loop is far more modest: ordinary vehicles in ordinary-pressure tunnels at road-like speeds. They’re different ideas, even though both involve tubes.
The showmanship
True to Musk’s style, the company has leaned into stunts and merchandise — famously selling branded hats and a “Not-A-Flamethrower” to raise early cash and attention. That blend of genuine engineering ambition and viral marketing is a recurring theme across his ventures.
FAQ
What does The Boring Company do?
It digs tunnels intended to ease traffic by moving vehicles underground. Its main working example is the Loop in Las Vegas, where Teslas carry passengers between stations through tunnels.
Who owns The Boring Company?
It was founded by Elon Musk in 2016 and is a private company. It started as an offshoot of his frustration with Los Angeles traffic.
Is the Boring Company the same as Hyperloop?
No. Hyperloop is a separate high-speed concept Musk proposed but didn’t build. The Boring Company’s Loop uses regular vehicles in normal-pressure tunnels at much lower speeds.
What has the Boring Company actually built?
Its main operational project is the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, with approval to expand into a larger Vegas Loop. Several other proposed projects have not been built.
Company plans and projects change over time. This explainer reflects the current landscape and is reviewed periodically.