The Boring Company, the new tunneling company founded by Elon Musk, on May 12 began boring the first of what Musk said will be a series of underground highways ferrying both people and vehicles beneath Los Angeles.
The first full-length tunnel will run from the Los Angeles International Airport to the cities of Culver City, Santa Monica, Westwood and Sherman Oaks in Southern California. Future tunnels are planned to cover "all of greater LA," said Musk, who noted that the tunnels will be earthquake-proof.
His plan also involves having cars and other vehicles ride an "electric sled" travelling at 125 miles per hour.
This subterranean road system is Musk's solution to the traffic congestion plaguing California. He plans a connected network of high-speed tunnel freeways deep underneath Los Angeles.
"Would mean Westwood to LAX in 5 mins," Musk wrote, next to a photo of a test sled inside the nearly mile-long experimental Hyperloop vacuum-sealed tunnel outside SpaceX headquarters.
Musk's high-speed tunnel freeway venture, however, is still being criticized as a harebrained scheme by tunneling experts who view his plans as kooky and unworkable.
Despite the brickbats, Trump went ahead with his project and on May 12 began digging an experimental tunnel inside SpaceX's parking lot along Crenshaw Boulevard. This tunnel will begin with a large bore pit 20 feet by 150 feet with a 13.5 foot diameter.
The tunnel will ultimately reach 500 feet long. It's being excavated by a tunnel boring machine (TBM) christened "Godot" by Musk, the name of a mysterious character that never appears in a Samuel Beckett play called "Waiting for Godot."
Musk posted the news of Godot's first dig on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, along with a series of photos.
"First tunnel for The Boring Company begins," said Musk in a photo caption of the tunnel's entrance in SpaceX's parking lot.
"Full length of first tunnel will run from LAX to Culver City, Santa Monica, Westwood and Sherman Oaks. Future tunnels will cover all of greater L.A."
Musk said he intends to increase the power of the Godot tenfold.