Elon Musk’s Boring Company Promises High-Speed Tunnel to Ease Nashville Traffic Woes
A New Vision for Nashville
In a bold move aimed at tackling Nashville’s worsening traffic congestion, state officials have announced a groundbreaking partnership with Elon Musk’s infrastructure venture, The Boring Company. The plan involves constructing a high-speed underground tunnel system connecting downtown Nashville to the airport. Dubbed the “Music City Loop,” this ambitious project is expected to cut travel time to just 8–10 minutes — a significant improvement over the usual 20-minute trip, not accounting for traffic.
Governor Bill Lee, speaking at the launch event, emphasized that the project would be “100% privately funded,” assuring Tennessee taxpayers that they would not bear any financial burden. However, details regarding the funding sources and exact project costs remain undisclosed.
What the Tunnel Promises
The Music City Loop is designed to be The Boring Company’s second operational tunnel system, modeled after the first in Las Vegas. That system, located beneath the city’s convention center, shuttles visitors in Teslas through an underground tunnel — an idea originally envisioned as part of a futuristic transport solution.
According to plans, construction on the Nashville tunnel will begin soon after regulatory approvals are in place, with the first operational segment scheduled to open by next year and full completion expected within two years. Doug Kreulen, CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, expressed cautious optimism about the proposed timeline, hinting at the engineering challenges ahead.
Why Nashville?
Steve Davis, President of The Boring Company and a former leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, stated that Nashville was selected due to its pressing need for traffic solutions and a supportive community environment. He expressed hope that the city would serve as a successful model for other urban areas facing similar transportation bottlenecks.
Also present at the event was Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, though Elon Musk himself was notably absent. Unlike many of his other ventures, Musk did not publicize the event on his social media platform.
Musk’s Broader Footprint in Tennessee
Apart from this latest transportation venture, Musk’s presence in Tennessee has been growing. His AI company, xAI, established supercomputing campuses in Memphis last year. Additionally, charitable initiatives by Musk’s foundation have included upgrades to local schools and a $350,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis, stepping in after pandemic-era funding was cut.
A Pattern of Big Promises
Despite the buzz, skepticism remains. The Boring Company has a history of announcing large-scale tunnel projects that either stall or fade away entirely. Between 2017 and 2021, similar projects were scrapped or indefinitely postponed in major cities like Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Jose, and even a high-profile Baltimore–Washington D.C. corridor.
The company’s original goal, famously teased by Musk in 2016 as a plan to relieve his own frustration with traffic, included a hyperloop system — capsules traveling at ultra-high speeds through low-pressure tubes. Though Musk once claimed to have “verbal government approval” for a New York–D.C. hyperloop, no tangible progress followed, and the vision quietly faded.
The Reality Versus the Vision
The most realized version of Musk’s tunneling concept is the Las Vegas Loop. Initially presented in 2017 as a sleek, automated transportation system featuring vehicles lowered into curbside tunnels by elevators, it ultimately became a conventional underground road used by human-driven Tesla cars. Though eight stations have been built in Las Vegas and local authorities have approved plans for expansion to 68 miles and 104 stations, this remains the exception rather than the rule.
Efforts to expand beyond Las Vegas have repeatedly hit roadblocks. Despite announcements, projects in Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, and Fort Lauderdale have all either stalled or disappeared from public discussion. Most recently, in 2025, Fort Lauderdale officials expressed uncertainty about whether The Boring Company would uphold its original funding commitments.
Can Nashville Break the Pattern?
With growing investments and attention focused on Tennessee, some are hopeful that Nashville might be the city where Musk’s tunnel vision is finally realized. But with a legacy of big ideas that fail to materialize, many are watching closely to see if this time will be different.
Whether the Music City Loop becomes a transportation revolution or just another unrealized promise depends not just on engineering — but on trust, transparency, and follow-through.