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Elon Musk’s Boring Co. to bid on Chicago’s high-speed rail project

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Not one to turn shy away from a city-level tunneling project, Elon Musk announced in a tweet Wednesday that The Boring Company will bid to build an express line between downtown Chicago and O’Hare International Airport.

“The Boring Company will compete to fund, build & operate a high-speed Loop connecting Chicago O’Hare Airport to downtown” said Musk, a week after the billionaire entrepreneur revealed that his tunnel-digging venture raised $300,000 in an “Initial Hat Offering”.

Musk’s bid is in response to an open call made by the Chicago Infrastructure Trust for private companies to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the O’Hare Express System.

“This project aims to provide express transportation service between O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and downtown Chicago. This RFQ represents the commencement of the procurement process for selecting the private party that will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the OES Project.” reads the description for the project.

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Ironically, even before Musk acknowledged his interest in the project, Deputy Mayor Bob Rivkin hoped that the serial tech entrepreneur would respond to the open call. “The RFQ is agnostic about whether this is a surface or sub-surface system. We hope Elon Musk and either builders of hyper-loops and other innovative technologies will respond,” said Rivkin.

The high-speed rail line doesn’t have any limitations on whether it should be a surface level transportation system or one that’s underground. According to the Chicago Sun Times, the goal for the express system is to reduce the time it takes to travel from downtown Chicago to O’Hare in 20 minutes or less, cutting travel time by half. It would also provide a cost savings to travelers who currently pay as much as $60 for travel by taxi service or $40 by Uber. Musk intends to build a high-speed Loop that’s similar to a Hyperloop, but without having the need for a depressurized tunnel system because of the shorter distance of travel.

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This won’t be the first tunneling project for Musk’s boring venture. The company has been working on a 2-mile test tunnel beneath the section of land adjoining SpaceX headquarters and Tesla’s Design Center in Hawthorne, CA. The company also recently filed a permit to extend its project into nearby LAX and Los Angeles, as it plans to connect the congested Interstate 405 with U.S. Route 101.

“First route will go roughly parallel to the 405 from LAX to 101, with on/offramps every mile or so. It will work like a fast freeway, where electric skates carrying vehicles and people on pods on the main artery travel at up to 150mph, and the skates switch to side tunnels to exit and enter.” said Musk.

 

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Gene has been obsessed with cars since before he could legally sit in the front seat. Writer, researcher, unofficial CS support, accountant, native suit guy when needed, and overall stick poker. He approaches every story the way he approaches a road trip: with too much enthusiasm, not enough planning, and a surprisingly good outcome. gene@teslarati.com

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Tesla bolsters App with new safety, insurance, and storage features

The Tesla Smartphone App is one of the biggest and best features and advantages owners have. Everything from moving the vehicle with Summon, to getting Navigation sent to the car, to preconditioning the cabin can be done with the Tesla App.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is bolstering its smartphone App with a series of new features to streamline operations for owners. The new additions include fixes to safety, its in-house insurance offering, and storage management for Dashcam clips.

The Tesla Smartphone App is one of the biggest and best features and advantages owners have. Everything from moving the vehicle with Summon, to getting Navigation sent to the car, to preconditioning the cabin can be done with the Tesla App.

But in classic Tesla fashion, the company is aiming to improve the offerings of the app, and it is doing so with a handful of new features. They were first discovered by Tesla App Updates.

Tesla Insurance – Safety Score 3.0

This is truly part of the Spring 2026 Update, but Tesla has now given more transparency on how FSD has saved people money on their premiums.

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Tesla intertwines FSD with in-house Insurance for attractive incentive

Additionally, Tesla is now automatically awarding a Safety Score of 100 for every mile traveled on Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

Update Tracking

Updates traditionally appear on the App or on the Center Touchscreen in the car. There is nothing better than seeing that Green Arrow at the top of the screen, or opening your app and seeing that there is a Software Update available.

Now, there will be no need to manually check the app and initiate the download. Tesla is enabling a new feature that will automatically download updates for you.

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Storage Management

Your USB drive can now be remotely formatted, and old Dashcam clips can be deleted straight from the phone. When you record a lot of things using the Dashcam feature, that storage fills up pretty quickly.

Now, manually deleting the Dashcam videos is easier than ever.

Trailer Light Test

This is perhaps the coolest and most crucial addition to the Tesla App, as those who tow and haul will now be able to trigger a diagnostic light sequence from the app while standing behind your trailer to ensure the brake lights work.

Verifying your trailer lights are connected properly and operating normally and as intended is normally a massive hassle.

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Now, a new trigger will be available to initiate a diagnostic light sequence directly from your phone.

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Tesla is building private Superchargers just for Robotaxi

For Tesla, these Robotaxi-only Superchargers represent more than convenient parking spots. They are the first bricks in a vertically integrated autonomy platform—vehicles, energy, and software working in seamless concert. 

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is starting to build out Robotaxi-only Superchargers as the company is truly leaning on its Full Self-Driving and autonomy efforts to solve passenger travel.

Last week, the company filed pre-permits in Arizona’s East Valley for two dedicated, non-public charging sites stocked with next-generation V4 Superchargers. The filings mark the first visible evidence of purpose-built infrastructure exclusively for autonomous Tesla vehicles, as they state they are not for public use.

In Chandler, Tesla plans to install 56 V4 stalls on an industrial parcel along South Roosevelt Avenue. Site documents describe a high-capacity setup supported by new SRP transformers, switching cabinets, and upgrades to existing underground lines.

A second site in Mesa, located at 5349 E Main Street in another industrial zone, carries the same private-use designation. Both locations sit well away from public roads and customer traffic, ensuring the chargers serve only Tesla’s internal fleet.

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The sites were spotted by Supercharger observer MarcoRP.

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Phoenix’s East Valley offers an ideal launchpad for Robotaxi Supercharging: the location has a clean, grid-like street layout and year-round mild weather that minimizes camera degradation. Additionally, Arizona has welcomed self-driving pilots since Waymo’s early days.

By securing private depots now, Tesla can optimize charging cycles, reduce downtime, and maintain full control over vehicle hygiene and security, critical factors for high-utilization Robotaxi operations.

The type of Supercharger is telling as well, as they are V4, Tesla’s fastest and most efficient buildout.

V4 stalls deliver faster power and support bidirectional charging, features that will let idle Robotaxis feed energy back to the grid during off-peak hours. Because the sites are closed to the public, Tesla avoids congestion, vandalism risks, and the scheduling conflicts that plague shared stations.

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The timing is telling. With unsupervised Full Self-Driving hardware already rolling out across the lineup and Cybercab production targets looming, Tesla is shifting from vehicle development to ecosystem readiness.

Charging infrastructure has historically been the gating factor for ride-hailing scale; building it ahead of the vehicles signals confidence that regulatory and technical hurdles are nearing resolution.

Tesla has been spotted testing Cybercab units in Arizona over the past few months, as well.

Interestingly, the permits show V4 Superchargers in the plans, although Cybercab will likely utilize wireless charging:

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Tesla Cybercab spotted with interesting charging solution, stimulating discussion

For Tesla, these Robotaxi-only Superchargers represent more than convenient parking spots. They are the first bricks in a vertically integrated autonomy platform—vehicles, energy, and software working in seamless concert.

It appears Tesla is preparing to begin building out Robotaxi-only Superchargers to avoid the congestion and keep its autonomous fleet charged up to get ride-hailers to their destinations.

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ARK’s SpaceX IPO Guide makes a compelling case on why $1.75T may not be the ceiling

ARK Invest breaks down six reasons SpaceX’s $1.75 trillion IPO valuation may be justified.

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ARK Invest, which holds SpaceX as its largest Venture Fund position at 17% of net assets, has published a detailed investor guide to why a SpaceX IPO may be grounded in a $1.75 trillion target valuation.

The financial case starts with Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet constellation, which has surpassed 10 million active subscribers globally as of early 2026, with 2026 revenue projected to exceed $20 billion. ARK’s research puts the total satellite connectivity market opportunity at roughly $160 billion annually at scale, and Starlink is adding customers faster than any telecom network in history. That growth alone would justify a substantial valuation.

Additionally,  ARK notes that SpaceX has reduced the cost per kilogram to orbit from roughly $15,600 in 2008 to under $1,000 today through reusable Falcon 9 hardware. A fully operational Starship targeting sub-$100 per kilogram would represent a significant cost decline and open markets that do not currently exist. SpaceX executed a staggering 165 missions in 2025 and now accounts for approximately 85% of all global orbital launches. That infrastructure position took decades to build and would be nearly impossible to replicate at comparable cost.

SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise

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The February 2026 merger with xAI added a layer to the valuation that straightforward financial models struggle to capture. ARK argues that at sub-$100 launch costs, orbital data centers could deliver compute roughly 25% cheaper than ground-based alternatives, without power grid delays, permitting friction, or land constraints. Musk has stated a goal of deploying 100 gigawatts of AI computing capacity per year from orbit.

The $1.75 trillion figure itself is not a conventional earnings multiple. At roughly 95x trailing revenue, it prices in Starlink’s adoption curve, Starship’s cost trajectory, and the orbital compute thesis together. The public S-1 prospectus, due at least 15 days before the June roadshow, will give investors their first complete look at the financials to test those assumptions. ARK’s position is that the track record earns the benefit of the doubt. Fully reusable rockets were considered unrealistic for years. Starlink was considered financially unviable. Both happened on timelines that surprised skeptics.

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