HAWTHORNE, CA – DECEMBER 18: Tesla Inc. Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at an unveiling event for The Boring Company’s Hawthorne Test Tunnel on December 18, 2018 in Hawthorne, California. On Tuesday night, The Boring Company will officially open the Hawthorne Tunnel, a preview of Musk’s broader vision of decongesting Los Angeles. (Photo by Robyn Beck-Pool/Getty Images)
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Elon Musk’s Boring Company wants to build a network of underground tunnels to carry people and cargo across cities. It has just raised $675 million to further advance this goal.
The Boring Company announced late Wednesday that it had raised the new funds in a Series C funding round that valued the company at $5.675 billion.
The Boring Company says their ultimate goal is to eliminate “soul-crushing traffic” using vast networks of tunnels. The company plans to spend the latest money scaling Loop, a system that will ferry passengers through high-speed tunnels.
The start-up has previously claimed the technology could one day carry passengers at up to 150 miles per hour. It has struggled to reach those speeds so far, peaking at just 50 mph during test drives with reporters in a Tesla Model X electric car.
The Boring Company said it recently received approval for a 29-mile network of tunnels connecting 51 stations beneath Las Vegas. The company calls it the “largest underground transportation project” and says it will eventually be able to transport 57,000 passengers per hour.
It’s a far cry from the “hyperloop” concept first envisioned by Musk, in which capsules would zoom through a series of underground tubes at even faster speeds — up to 760 miles per hour, according to a company that supports the technology developed. Several companies are hoping to make the technology a reality.
For now, Hyperloop says it’s focused on developing its Loop project and Prufrock, The Boring Company’s line of machines designed to dig huge tunnel infrastructure projects in a matter of weeks.
The Boring Company says it will “significantly increase hiring of engineering, operations and production personnel” to grow its Vegas Loop project and research and development.
As if Musk didn’t already have enough to do, the tech billionaire is also proposing a deal to buy Twitter and take the company private.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has offered to acquire the social media platform for $43 billion, but there are doubts he can secure the funding needed for such a large offer. Twitter’s board of directors has implemented a so-called “poison pill” strategy to stave off a potential hostile takeover.
Tesla on Wednesday reported an 81% jump in first-quarter sales, beating analysts’ expectations and sending the company’s shares up more than 7% in after-hours trading.