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Musk says Boring Co. LA tunnel is nearly done, will offer free demo rides soon

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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.

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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.

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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

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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Investor's Corner

Tesla stock tumbles after earnings, one of its sharpest single-day declines

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) endured one of its sharpest single-day declines in years on July 23, tumbling approximately 14.5 percent and closing near $320 after opening the session around $374. The drop erased more than $140 billion in market value amid heavy trading volume and left the shares at multi-week lows.

The sell-off followed the company’s second-quarter 2026 results, released the previous evening. Tesla reported record revenue of $28.2 billion, up 26 percent year over year, driven by a Q2-record 480,126 vehicle deliveries. Energy storage deployments also rose strongly.

Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue

Yet profitability disappointed sharply. Operating income fell 57 percent to $398 million, compressing the operating margin to just 1.4 percent. Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $0.33, well below the roughly $0.53 analysts had expected. Free cash flow turned negative by $1.1 billion as capital expenditures surged 142 percent to $5.8 billion, largely tied to accelerated spending on artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous systems.

The losses on capex were expected, as Tesla said it would be spending heavily in 2026.

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Investors also reacted to lingering uncertainty surrounding key product timelines. During the Earnings Call, management reiterated ambitions for Robotaxi deployment and the Optimus humanoid robot, but offered limited new concrete milestones, renewing questions about execution pace that have long accompanied Tesla’s ambitious roadmap.

The magnitude of the decline places it among Tesla’s more severe one-day percentage losses since its 2010 initial public offering. Historically, the two largest single-day drops (split-adjusted) remain September 8, 2020, when shares fell 21.1 percent amid broader market volatility and valuation concerns, and January 13, 2012, with a 19.3 percent plunge during the company’s early growth struggles.

Other notable declines include an 18.6 percent drop on March 16, 2020, at the onset of pandemic-related market turmoil. Thursday’s move ranks roughly ninth on the all-time list but stands out as the steepest in more than a year.

Despite the short-term pain, Tesla’s long-term trajectory has repeatedly recovered from such volatility. The latest results underscore both the strength of its core automotive and energy businesses and the near-term costs of heavy investment in next-generation technologies.

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Elon Musk is not happy about this Tesla Full Self-Driving approval delay

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Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk clapped back at France’s decision to withhold the approval for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised system, projecting a clear and blunt message to French Transport Minister Phillippe Tabarot, after he publicly rejected the technology in its current form.

Tabarot outlines several concerns with Tesla Full Self-Driving in a detailed video statement, where he said, “The safety trade-offs are not yet sufficient to authorize it as it currently stands,” he said. He emphasized that FSD is not a true self-driving system and that the driver remains fully responsible.

Key issues Tabarot also brought up included allowing speeding when surrounding traffic exceeds limits and what he believes are insufficient guarantees of driver attention during complex urban maneuvers such as lane changes, intersections, and roundabouts.

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While acknowledging technological progress and France’s support for autonomous innovation, Tabarot stressed that deployment must prioritize road safety. He noted ongoing technical discussions with Tesla, the Netherlands, and other European partners, with further ecosystem meetings planned for the fall.

Musk’s rebuke highlights the human cost of regulatory caution. Tesla’s latest safety reports provide compelling data supporting accelerated adoption. In the most recent 12-month period, vehicles using FSD (Supervised) recorded one major collision per approximately 5.1 million miles driven, dramatically better than the U.S. national average of one crash per 698,000 miles.

Even Tesla vehicles driven manually with active safety features outperform the average by a wide margin. These figures come from billions of real-world miles of telemetry, showing FSD vehicles involved in far fewer incidents than both manual Teslas and the broader U.S. fleet.

Critics argue Tesla’s comparisons require careful scrutiny regarding reporting thresholds and fleet demographics, yet the data consistently positions FSD as a potential lifesaver. With road fatalities remaining a leading cause of death worldwide, Musk contends that proven safer technology should not face prolonged bureaucratic hurdles.

France’s measured approach reflects the broader European regulatory caution, which many, especially Musk, have been critical of in the past. However, as autonomous systems from Tesla and competitors like Waymo demonstrate superior safety in independent studies, pressure is mounting for harmonized approvals.

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Musk’s warning carries the belief that every month of delay may equate to avoidable tragedies on European roads.

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Investor's Corner

Google’s massive stake in SpaceX will shock you

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Credit: SpaceX

In a striking revelation that underscores the lucrative crossover between Big Tech and space exploration, Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, disclosed a massive $94.1 billion equity stake in SpaceX following the rocket company’s blockbuster initial public offering earlier this year.

The disclosure came in Alphabet’s quarterly filing, marking the first time the long-held private investment has been publicly valued at market prices. Google was an early backer, investing alongside Fidelity in 2015 with roughly $500-900 million at a time when SpaceX was valued around $12 billion.

That bet has delivered extraordinary returns, roughly a hundredfold, transforming a strategic play on satellite internet and launch capabilities into one of Alphabet’s largest assets.

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Of the total holding, approximately $80 billion remains subject to short-term post-IPO lockup restrictions, preventing near-term sales. An additional $14.1 billion faces longer-term restrictions, extending into the third quarter of 2027. This structure limits immediate liquidity but protects against market volatility as SpaceX transitions into public trading.

The SpaceX position contributed significantly to gains in Alphabet’s broader investment portfolio, which also includes a major stake in AI leader Anthropic. Combined, these holdings helped drive nearly $100 billion in investment gains during the second quarter, providing a substantial boost to net income amid ongoing AI spending pressures.

Elon Musk sends first warning to SpaceX short sellers

Analysts view the disclosure as validation of Alphabet’s venture strategy beyond its core search and cloud businesses. The investment aligns with deeper ties, including reported multi-billion-dollar deals for AI computing capacity on SpaceX infrastructure. As SpaceX advances Starship flights, Starlink expansion, and ambitious Mars goals under Elon Musk, Google’s stake positions it to benefit from the commercialization of space.

For Alphabet, the windfall highlights how patient, forward-looking bets in transformative sectors can yield outsized rewards. While lockups temper short-term impact, the holding cements SpaceX as a cornerstone of Alphabet’s diversified portfolio in an era where aerospace, AI, and connectivity increasingly intersect. Investors will watch closely as restrictions lift and SpaceX’s public performance unfolds.

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