Elon Musk’s proposed 600-mph Hyperloop has yet to become reality, but his Boring Company is apparently working on a high-speed tunnel in Texas that could serve as a precursor to the system. Musk said the tunnel could carry passengers between Austin and San Antonio in less than 30 minutes while providing more predictable travel times.
From Austin to San Antonio in Less Than 30 Minutes
In a post on X.com, the social media network he owns, Musk said vehicles traveling through the tunnel would exceed 200 miles per hour, allowing them to complete the journey in approximately half an hour.
The trip between Austin and San Antonio currently covers about 80 miles and can take as much as 2.5 hours by car because of traffic congestion, according to Musk.
However, Musk’s brief announcement left major questions unanswered. As Seeking Alpha pointed out, the post did not disclose the proposed route, construction cost, financing structure or expected completion date.
There are also unanswered questions about the vehicles that The Boring Company would use. Musk did not say whether the Texas loop would rely on conventional Tesla electric vehicles like those used in the Vegas Loop, specialized passenger pods or the low-pressure tubes originally envisioned for Hyperloop travel.
Vehicles traveling above 200 mph would make conventional Tesla EVs a difficult fit for the proposed system. Tesla’s fastest car was the Model S Plaid, which could reach 200 mph with the optional Track Package upgrade.
However, Tesla no longer makes the Model S. Even if it were still in production, operating a Model S Plaid at 200 mph inside a tunnel would raise safety concerns, while the EV could not travel more than 40 miles at that speed before its battery was fully discharged.
As a result, custom-engineered transit vehicles would appear to be a more logical choice based on the details provided.
No Details or Evidence That Work Has Started
A proposed route between Austin and San Antonio would also be significantly longer than The Boring Company’s existing system in Las Vegas. Known as the LVCC Loop, that system has a route length of only 1.7 miles, spanning about 2.2 total miles of tunnel infrastructure.
The planned Texas loop would likely require extensive regulatory approvals, safety testing and agreements governing land access. Musk did not say whether the project has any government partners or whether preliminary construction had begun.
That leaves the announcement without details indicating that the project has progressed to a financed infrastructure project. If it begins to materialize, however, the Texas loop would be The Boring Company’s most ambitious project yet and would allow the company to demonstrate its ability to extend its technology beyond relatively short urban loops.
