Elon Musk's Boring Company wants to dig a tunnel so SpaceX staff can get to their Texas launch site easier, a report says
- Elon Musk's The Boring Company reportedly wants to dig a tunnel near SpaceX's Texas launch site.
- The tunnel would link South Padre Island to Boca Chica, an official told The Brownsville Herald.
- SpaceX staff on the island could access the launch complex via the tunnel, the official said.
Elon Musk's The Boring Company wants to dig a transport tunnel near SpaceX's Texas launch base to make it easier for staff to get to work, The Brownsville Herald reported on Sunday.
The Boring Company, Musk's tunneling venture, proposed the idea in a meeting with county officials in July, Pete Sepulveda Jr., a country administrator who attended the discussion, told The Herald. SpaceX wanted to dig a tunnel between an area south of South Padre Island, where some staff live, to a spot north of Boca Chica beach, he said.
"Keep in mind that the ship channel goes by there, so that depth would have to be pretty far down," Sepulveda told The Herald.
The tunnel would allow SpaceX staff living on South Padre Island to access the launch complex, called Starbase, in Boca Chica, Sepulveda told The Herald.
It would also give the public access to parts of Boca Chica beach, which are currently closed off due to SpaceX's launch site activities, he added.
Insider has reached out to The Boring Company for comment.
"From what we understand from SpaceX is there is a good portion of the beach that can remain open if there was access to it, even though the road is closed and even though a portion of the beach is closed," Sepulveda told The Herald.
The Boring Company opened its first underground transport system in Las Vegas in June. The 1.7-mile-long loop, with three stops, cost around $47 million to build, the company said.
The Boring Company would have to pay for the tunnel to South Padre Island because the county "wouldn't be able to participate with any type of funding," Sepulveda said.
Sepulveda told The Herald that the tunnel proposal hadn't been discussed further since the meeting. The county is also considering a ferry service between South Padre Island and Boca Chica beach, he added.