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The Boring Company’s garage-elevator site shows flurry of activity ahead of Dec 10 public showing

[Credit: Pauline Acalin/Teslarati]

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Less than a week after Elon Musk announced that The Boring Company would be holding a public showing of its Hawthorne tunnel system on December 10, the tunneling startup’s site for its garage-elevator has started exhibiting a flurry of activity. As revealed in recent photographs of the site, The Boring Company appears to be expediting the construction of the O’Leary Station.

Recent social media uploads from The Boring Company’s official Twitter account have teased a shaft that’s being constructed on a private lot at 120th Street and Prairie Avenue, located roughly at the halfway point of the company’s 2-mile Hawthorne test tunnel. The site, which the startup dubbed as the O’Leary Station after 13-year SpaceX veteran Patrick O’Leary, appears to be part of a proof-of-concept for a tunnel design that links directly to a residential garage.

Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin recently captured photographs of the work currently being done at the garage-elevator’s site. Compared to the first images that Teslarati photographers were able to capture earlier this month, the new set of photos show that the Prairie Ave location has been filled with more materials for the garage-elevator’s construction. A crew of workers was also busy working on the site during the time the photographs were taken. In what could be yet another teaser for an upcoming Elon Musk project, one of the workers in the site was wearing a shirt with the words “The Brick Company,” written in the same font as The Boring Company’s logo.

The Boring Company’s site for its prototype garage-elevator shows activity. [Credit: Pauline Acalin/Teslarati]

These latest images provide the closest look yet at the Boring Company’s garage-elevator concept, particularly the size of the excavation, which definitely seems designed to fit even large vehicles like trucks and full-sized SUVs. Large conventional car elevators are usually around 20 feet at their longest, but if these latest images are any indication, the diameter of the Boring Company’s garage elevator seems to be far beyond 20 feet.

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In a rather clever fashion, the Boring Company’s garage elevator concept would likely serve as a point of access for tunnel maintenance, as well as an exit point for the removal of tunnel boring machine (TBM) segments. The retrieval of TBM segments defies conventional tunneling practices, since components such as TBM cutting heads are usually left underground due to the costs associated with their retrieval.

An approval for the construction of the garage-elevator concept was granted by the city council of Hawthrone last September. The design of the garage-elevator is quite straightforward. Vehicles would enter a tunnel from the SpaceX campus itself, move through a tunnel system, onto the prototype garage-elevator, and travel back into the SpaceX facility.

The Boring Company’s site for its prototype garage-elevator shows activity. [Credit: Pauline Acalin/Teslarati]

Unlike the Boring Company’s other proof-of-concept projects such as the Dugout Loop or the test tunnel that would be up for public showing on December 10, the garage-elevator would be exclusively used for testing purposes only. In a comment about the project, Boring Company representative Jane Labanowski also stated that the site would be an essential part of the tunneling startup’s vision for the future.

“It’s an important part of the longer-term vision the company is trying to build,” she said.

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While the commuting public would not be utilizing the garage-elevator, it would be a great idea for The Boring Company to complete the project before the test tunnel’s public showing in December. By having the garage-elevator fully-operational by December 10, attendees of the upcoming public showing would get a clearer idea of how Elon Musk’s tunnels can make transportation faster and easier. 

While the Boring Company is a young tunneling startup that is more well-known for its clever and unique merchandise such as Elon Musk’s Not-a-Flamethrower, the company is also involved in high-profile initiatives. The Boring Company, for, managed to win a contract for the downtown Chicago-O’Hare high-speed transport system earlier this year, beating out larger conglomerates bidding on the project. If the Boring Company is successful in the Chicago-O’Hare transport line, Berenberg analyst Alexander Haissl noted that the tunneling startup could be worth as much as $16 billion.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump’s feud shall pass, several bulls say.

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The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
President Donald J. Trump purchases a Tesla on the South Lawn, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

Tesla analysts are breaking down the current feud between CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, as the two continue to disagree on the “Big Beautiful Bill” and its impact on the country’s national debt.

Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump Administration, left his post in May. Soon thereafter, he and President Trump entered a very public and verbal disagreement, where things turned sour. They reconciled to an extent, and things seemed to be in the past.

However, the second disagreement between the two started on Monday, as Musk continued to push back on the “Big Beautiful Bill” that the Trump administration is attempting to sign into law. It would, by Musk’s estimation, increase spending and reverse the work DOGE did to trim the deficit.

President Trump has hinted that DOGE could be “the monster” that “eats Elon,” threatening to end the subsidies that SpaceX and Tesla receive. Musk has not been opposed to ending government subsidies for companies, including his own, as long as they are all abolished.

How Tesla could benefit from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that axes EV subsidies

Despite this contentious back-and-forth between the two, analysts are sharing their opinions now, and a few of the more bullish Tesla observers are convinced that this feud will pass, Trump and Musk will resolve their differences as they have before, and things will return to normal.

ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood said this morning that the feud between Musk and Trump is another example of “this too shall pass:”

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Additionally, Wedbush’s Dan Ives, in a note to investors this morning, said that the situation “will settle:”

“We believe this situation will settle and at the end of the day Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk given the AI Arms Race going on between the US and China. The jabs between Musk and Trump will continue as the Budget rolls through Congress but Tesla investors want Musk to focus on driving Tesla and stop this political angle…which has turned into a life of its own in a roller coaster ride since the November elections.”

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Tesla shares are down about 5 percent at 3:10 p.m. on the East Coast.

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Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly overseeing sales in North America and Europe, Bloomberg reports.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla scrambled its executives around following the exit of CEO Elon Musk’s sidekick last week, Omead Afshar. Afshar was relieved of his duties as Head of Sales for both North America and Europe.

Bloomberg is reporting that Musk is now overseeing both regions for sales, according to sources familiar with the matter. Afshar left the company last week, likely due to slow sales in both markets, ending a seven-year term with the electric automaker.

Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports

Afshar was promoted to the role late last year as Musk was becoming more involved in the road to the White House with President Donald Trump.

Afshar, whose LinkedIn account stated he was working within the “Office of the CEO,” was known as Musk’s right-hand man for years.

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Additionally, Tom Zhu, currently the Senior Vice President of Automotive at Tesla, will oversee sales in Asia, according to the report.

It is a scramble by Tesla to get the company’s proven executives over the pain points the automaker has found halfway through the year. Sales are looking to be close to the 1.8 million vehicles the company delivered in both of the past two years.

Tesla is pivoting to pay more attention to the struggling automotive sales that it has felt over the past six months. Although it is still performing well and is the best-selling EV maker by a long way, it is struggling to find growth despite redesigning its vehicles and launching new tech and improvements within them.

The company is also looking to focus more on its deployment of autonomous tech, especially as it recently launched its Robotaxi platform in Austin just over a week ago.

Tesla officially launches Robotaxi service with no driver

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However, while this is the long-term catalyst for Tesla, sales still need some work, and it appears the company’s strategy is to put its biggest guns on its biggest problems.

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Tesla upgrades Model 3 and Model Y in China, hikes price for long-range sedan

Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles).

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla has rolled out a series of quiet upgrades to its Model 3 and Model Y in China, enhancing range and performance for long-range variants. The updates come with a price hike for the Model 3 Long Range All-Wheel Drive, which now costs RMB 285,500 (about $39,300), up RMB 10,000 ($1,400) from the previous price.

Model 3 gets acceleration boost, extended range

Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles), up from 713 km (443 miles), and a faster 0–100 km/h acceleration time of 3.8 seconds, down from 4.4 seconds. These changes suggest that Tesla has bundled the previously optional Acceleration Boost for the Model 3, once priced at RMB 14,100 ($1,968), as a standard feature.

Delivery wait times for the long-range Model 3 have also been shortened, from 3–5 weeks to just 1–3 weeks, as per CNEV Post. No changes were made to the entry-level RWD or Performance versions, which retain their RMB 235,500 and RMB 339,500 price points, respectively. Wait times for those trims also remain at 1–3 weeks and 8–10 weeks.

Model Y range increases, pricing holds steady

The Model Y Long Range has also seen its CLTC-rated range increase from 719 km (447 miles) to 750 km (466 miles), though its price remains unchanged at RMB 313,500 ($43,759). The model maintains a 0–100 km/h time of 4.3 seconds.

Tesla also updated delivery times for the Model Y lineup. The Long Range variant now shows a wait time of 1–3 weeks, an improvement from the previous 3–5 weeks. The entry-level RWD version maintained its starting price of RMB 263,500, though its delivery window is now shorter at 2–4 weeks.

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Tesla continues to offer several purchase incentives in China, including an RMB 8,000 discount for select paint options, an RMB 8,000 insurance subsidy, and five years of interest-free financing for eligible variants.

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