The city of Chicago has selected Elon Musk's The Boring Company to build a high-speed transit system connecting O’Hare Airport and downtown Chicago.
The plan calls for an underground tunnel system where passengers would be transported between Block 37 in the Loop and O'Hare Airport in just 12 minutes each way. (It takes about 40 minutes to get from O'Hare to downtown today via the Blue Line.) Autonomous, 16-passenger electric vehicles would hit speeds of more than 100 MPH and leave as frequently as every 30 seconds.
Rides are expected to cost between $20 and $25. The Boring Company is financing the project, which is expected to cost less than $1 billion, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Boring Company from The Boring Company on Vimeo.
Musk plans to be in Chicago Thursday afternoon to formally announce the project with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Tribune said.
Musk's tunneling company has been in the running for the Chicago project for months, and in March was chosen as one of two finalists---along with O’Hare Xpress LLC---to complete the project.
It's not a surprise The Boring Company was selected (smart money was certainly on Musk once he publicly expressed interest in the project). But it's a bold choice for the city given that The Boring Company's technology is largely unproven. Launched just a year and a half ago, the company hasn't actually built any working underground transit systems yet. The company is still negotiating to build test tunnels under Los Angeles, and in February it got the go-ahead to start digging for a project in Washington, D.C. The company was born out of Musk’s frustration with L.A. traffic and his idea to move vehicles through high-speed underground tunnels.
Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has never been accused of thinking small. Though his plans have occasionally veered into the eccentric. In January, Musk started selling flamethrowers to raise money for The Boring Company. The flamethrowers sold out in 100 hours, with 20,000 people spending $500 each. The stunt raised around $10 million.
Chicago is now set to hold contract negotiations with The Boring Company on the project's details and timeline. It's unclear when exactly building would start.
At Thursday's press conference, Musk said that, pending approvals, The Boring company expects to start drilling this year and in as soon as three to four months.
Emanuel also said Thursday that the transportation system will be called "The X."
