News
Musk says Boring Co. LA tunnel is nearly done, will offer free demo rides soon
The Boring Company’s proof-of-concept LA tunnel is almost done, according to recent social media updates from Elon Musk. In a series of announcements on Thursday, Musk provided a teaser video of the startup’s 2.7-mile proof-of-concept tunnel, as well as updates about the Boring Co.’s DC to New York and LA to San Francisco projects.
Musk’s Boring Company updates on Thursday started with an announcement that the company’s tunnel under Los Angeles is nearly complete. Musk uploaded a video of the tunnel on his Instagram page, where he stated that the project is just pending final regulatory approvals. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also noted that The Boring Co. would be offering free demo rides to the public “in a few months.”
In his Instagram post, Musk personally extended his appreciation to everyone who aided in making the LA proof-of-concept tunnel a reality. Musk cited strong support from the public, as well as from government officials and regulators, as critical to the completion of the Boring Company’s projects.
In line with his statements back in March, Musk noted that once the tunnels are operational, The Boring Co. would be giving priority to commuters who do not have vehicles of their own, using an underground bus-like system called an Urban Loop. In his Instagram update, Musk stated that the cost of a ride in the Urban Loop would be less than that of a bus ticket.
Musk’s later tweets provided even more detail to the Boring Company’s projects. According to Musk, the company is already starting work on the DC to New York route — a far more ambitious plan that, if successful, would enable commuters to travel from New York to DC in just 29 minutes. Apart from this, Musk also noted that The Boring Co. is aiming to start working on a Los Angeles – San Francisco route next year. These projects will entail the use of pressurized pods in near vacuum tunnels using Hyperloop technology.
Already started DC to NY route.
Hopefully start LA to SF next year. That will be true @Hyperloop w pressurized pods in near vacuum tunnels & faster than jetliner.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2018
One of the most notable tidbits of information that Musk dropped on Twitter, however, was the mention of “branch loops” in the Boring Company’s tunnels. One of his followers, Michael Baylor, called on Musk to build a stop near Vandenberg, in order to provide space fans an easy way to attend SpaceX’s launches. Responding to the Twitter user, Musk stated that such stops would indeed be possible.
“A cool thing about the design is that’s easy to incorporate branch loops to serve small to mid-size cities without slowing down the main loop at all,” Musk responded.
While only a year old, the Boring Company is starting to make strides in the transportation industry. Earlier this year, the tunneling startup outlasted two of its rival bidders in the proposed, high-profile downtown Chicago-O’Hare transport system. The Boring Company recently finished a funding round as well, with an SEC filing revealing that the tunneling startup has raised $113 million in equity.
Watch Elon Musk’s clip of The Boring Company’s LA tunnel in the video below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BinoVT6Acpd/?taken-by=elonmusk
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
