Another one of Elon Musk's companies is eyeing Austin, and it's boasting of being bullish on building a futuristic tunnel in the city.
The Boring Co. — a tunnel construction company — announced in a Nov. 9 tweet that it was hiring in Austin and hinted that it may be planning an underground transit system in Central Texas.
Musk's company constructs "low-cost transportation, utility and freight tunnels," according to its website, with the goal to make transportation quicker and safer by creating a network of tunnels that alleviate traffic and congestion. The company has a test tunnel in Hawthorne, California, with proposed projects in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and along the East Coast.
There were eight Austin jobs posted on The Boring Co.'s website by press time, including five engineering positions and openings for an accountant and lead technical recruiter. There was also a listing for a business development lead, which will be tasked with creating "new revenue-generating tunnel projects for The Boring Company by persuading key stakeholders that a TBC tunnel meets their needs," according to the job posting.
Voters recently approved a major transportation plan — Project Connect — which will add at least two rail lines in the city, plus an underground stop downtown. Capital Metro spokeswoman Mariette Hummel said she didn't know of any plans for Musk's company to be involved in the city's new transit system.
"At this time, I'm not aware of any conversations that have happened," Hummel said. "But, we’re always looking to work with public or private partners to help with the future of mobility in the city."
Meanwhile, construction is underway in East Austin on a gigafactory for Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA). The multibillion-dollar company is planning to begin operations at the facility sometime next year.
