Nashville Is a ‘Tough Place to Tunnel.' Musk Is Digging Anyway.

New York Times

a day ago

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, already faces backlash over his company's giant supercomputer project in Memphis. Now, another project under his business empire has angered residents in Tennessee's capital, where state officials cleared the way on Thursday for a 10-mile tunnel to be dug under Nashville.
The project by the Boring Company, Mr. Musk's private tunneling venture, would connect downtown Nashville and the city's airport. Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, and other state leaders announced it this week, with little input from local lawmakers and residents, who raised objections to its fast-tracked approval.
Mr. Musk's tunnel, built for vehicles sold by one of his other companies, Tesla, is the latest point of tension between the Republican leaders who dominate state government and a majority of residents and officials in the largely liberal city.
'It is shameful and it is disrespectful that you all have made this decision without us,' State Senator Charlane Oliver, who represents part of Nashville, said at a hearing of a state commission that unanimously approved the use of state land for the project.
Construction on what is being billed as the Music City Loop is expected to begin in the coming days. Officials hope it would reduce the downtown-to-airport commute, typically at least 15 minutes in regular traffic, to as few as eight minutes. The loop would be used by Tesla cars owned and operated by the Boring Company.
Mr. Lee, speaking at an airport hotel, hailed the plans as something that 'might just be the coolest announcement since I've been here.'
Notably missing: Mayor Freddie O'Connell, a transit wonk who won voter approval of an infrastructure plan in November. 'We have a number of operational questions to understand the potential impact,' Mr. O'Connell said in a statement.
At least one lawmaker who represents part of Nashville, State Representative Justin Jones, a Democrat, wasn't invited to the Monday event and was barred from the announcement.
The loop would be the second such project built by the Boring Company in the United States, after a series of tunnels in Las Vegas. The first mile and a half of the multi-million-dollar loop, approved in 2019, opened to customers in 2021. A combination of private and public funds has been used to continue building out tunnels and stations.
Mr. Lee and others emphasized that construction on the Nashville tunnel would be privately funded by the Boring Company and would not receive tax breaks. They did not say how much it would cost to build, maintain or use.
Some proposed Boring Company projects announced elsewhere in the United States, including in Chicago, were never completed. And Nashville's limestone bedrock and temperate weather offer challenges for the company, especially compared with Las Vegas's dry climate.
'Tough place to tunnel in Nashville,' acknowledged Steve Davis, the company's president. 'If we were optimizing our easiest places to tunnel, it would not be here.' He said the city's growth and tourist attractions made it a desirable place to build.
Local residents expressed concerns about the possible environmental consequences of the project at a special meeting on Thursday, called to approve the use of a state parking lot by the Boring Company as a starting point for construction.
'This project has not had the time to do due diligence,' said Rev. Emily Haynes, a pastor at a nondenominational church in Nashville, who warned that the project was on 'a very dangerous ecological and socially risky path.'
Nashville leaders accused state officials of prioritizing tourists over residents in order to help Mr. Musk, whose businesses have already profited from his former close relationship with President Trump and other Republican leaders.
Similar concerns have been voiced over the construction of a supercomputer facility in Memphis for xAI, Mr. Musk's artificial intelligence business, where residents of the predominantly Black neighborhoods nearby have raised worries about increased air pollution and other disruptions.
Executives at xAI have said that the facility complies with environmental laws, and Mr. Musk and the company recently pledged to help renovate four nearby schools.
Some speakers pointedly said that the unanimous outcome of the hourlong hearing in Nashville on Thursday seemed preordained. With the permission of state officials, the parking lot in question had already been cordoned off by the Boring Company.