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Key takeaways from Elon Musk’s Boring Company information session
Elon Musk provided a number of insights about The Boring Company’s Los Angeles tunneling initiatives in an information session held Thursday night at the Leo Baeck Temple. The event was led by Elon Musk and SpaceX Director Steve Davis, who was listed in the company’s recent SEC filing. Here are the key takeaways from information session.
- The Boring Co.’s tunnel boring machines are all-electric, making them 3x as powerful than conventional tunnel boring machines. Tesla batteries are used to power the machines, which eliminates the need for cabling.
- The Boring Company is aiming to drill and lay tunnel walls simultaneously while excavating dirt from the tunnel using battery-electric locomotives, which are equipped with two Model 3 motors.
- Musk and Davis also discussed the Boring Bricks, interlocking bricks made from tunneling rock. Musk noted that the Boring Bricks, which could be used for affordable housing, are better than cinder blocks. Egyptian model kits, featuring designs like the Temple of Horus, will also be sold.
The Boring Company’s bricks. [Credit: The Boring Co.]
- The Urban Loop transit — electric pods that are designed for commuters — will cost $1 per ticket. The speed of the Urban Loop will be 150 mph, and will enable travel from downtown Los Angeles to LAX airport in 8 minutes. Each pod can carry a maximum of 16 people.
- The Boring Co. tunnels will support Hyperloop technology as well. Just like the Urban Loop’s pods, Hyperloop pods will carry a maximum of 16 people. Hyperloop pods, however, will be much faster, traveling at 700 mph.
- The proof-of-concept tunnel under Sepulveda Blvd. in LA will not be used for public transportation. There will be no street closures, nor any tunneling beneath any homes or businesses. Residents won’t “see, feel, or hear” any of the startup’s activities. Utility lines will be untouched by the project as well.
Transit stations with all-electric pedestrian pods envisioned by The Boring Company
- The Boring Company will be working closely with LA Metro. Musk stated that overall, “we want to connect with and supplement transport systems” that are already in place.
- Rocket technology is being used to develop and build the Boring Co.’s tunnels, considering that a number of SpaceX engineers are working on the tunneling startup’s projects.
- Line-Storm, the company’s second tunnel boring machine, features improvements over Godot, its first TBM. According to Musk, Godot is a conventional tunnel boring machine. Line-Storm, however, is “essentially a hybrid between conventional boring machine and the Proof-Rock, which is the fully Boring Company-designed machine.” Proof-Rock will be 10-15x faster than current TBMs. Line-storm will be at least 2x faster than a conventional boring machine.
- The Boring Company will do a full Environmental Impact Report. Musk noted that the company does not “expect any issues with the EIR.” Musk, stated, however, that the EIR will likely take some time to do.
- Elon Musk teased a party before the proof-of-concept tunnel’s launch.
The Boring Company came to fruition as Elon Musk’s way of alleviating the “soul-destroying” traffic that is prevalent in America’s streets. Just before the livestream, Elon Musk and LA Metro announced that the Boring Co.’s proof-of-concept tunneling project will be going ahead as planned. A statement from LA Metro reads as follows.
“Metro leadership and CEO Phil Washington had a great meeting today with the talented staff of the Boring Company. They will coordinate with us as they move ahead with their proof-of-concept tunnel under Sepulveda Boulevard to ensure it doesn’t interfere with our Sepulveda Transit Corridor rail project. We’ll be partners moving forward.”
Watch the Boring Company’s information session in the video below.
News
Tesla dispels reports of ‘sales suspension’ in California
“This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.
Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.”
Tesla has dispelled reports that it is facing a thirty-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued a penalty to the company after a judge ruled it “misled consumers about its driver-assistance technology.”
On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the California DMV was planning to adopt the penalty but decided to put it on ice for ninety days, giving Tesla an opportunity to “come into compliance.”
Tesla enters interesting situation with Full Self-Driving in California
Tesla responded to the report on Tuesday evening, after it came out, stating that this was a “consumer protection” order that was brought up over its use of the term “Autopilot.”
The company said “not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem,” yet a judge and the DMV determined it was, so they want to apply the penalty if Tesla doesn’t oblige.
However, Tesla said that its sales operations in California “will continue uninterrupted.”
It confirmed this in an X post on Tuesday night:
This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.
Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) December 17, 2025
The report and the decision by the DMV and Judge involved sparked outrage from the Tesla community, who stated that it should do its best to get out of California.
One X post said California “didn’t deserve” what Tesla had done for it in terms of employment, engineering, and innovation.
Tesla has used Autopilot and Full Self-Driving for years, but it did add the term “(Supervised)” to the end of the FSD suite earlier this year, potentially aiming to protect itself from instances like this one.
This is the first primary dispute over the terminology of Full Self-Driving, but it has undergone some scrutiny at the federal level, as some government officials have claimed the suite has “deceptive” naming. Previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was vocally critical of the use of the name “Full Self-Driving,” as well as “Autopilot.”
News
New EV tax credit rule could impact many EV buyers
We confirmed with a Tesla Sales Advisor that any current orders that have the $7,500 tax credit applied to them must be completed by December 31, meaning delivery must take place by that date. However, it is unclear at this point whether someone could still claim the credit when filing their tax returns for 2025 as long as the order reflects an order date before September 30.
Tesla owners could be impacted by a new EV tax credit rule, which seems to be a new hoop to jump through for those who benefited from the “extension,” which allowed orderers to take delivery after the loss of the $7,500 discount.
After the Trump Administration initiated the phase-out of the $7,500 EV tax credit, many were happy to see the rules had been changed slightly, as deliveries could occur after the September 30 cutoff as long as orders were placed before the end of that month.
However, there appears to be a new threshold that EV buyers will have to go through, and it will impact their ability to get the credit, at least at the Point of Sale, for now.
Delivery must be completed by the end of the year, and buyers must take possession of the car by December 31, 2025, or they will lose the tax credit. The U.S. government will be closing the tax credit portal, which allows people to claim the credit at the Point of Sale.
🚨UPDATE: $7,500 Tax Credit Portal “Closes By End of Year”.
This is bad news for pending Tesla buyers (MYP) looking to lock in the $7,500 Tax Credit.
“it looks like the portal closes by end of the year so there be no way for us to guarantee the funds however, we will try our… pic.twitter.com/LnWiaXL30k
— DennisCW | wen my L (@DennisCW_) December 15, 2025
We confirmed with a Tesla Sales Advisor that any current orders that have the $7,500 tax credit applied to them must be completed by December 31, meaning delivery must take place by that date.
However, it is unclear at this point whether someone could still claim the credit when filing their tax returns for 2025 as long as the order reflects an order date before September 30.
If not, the order can still go through, but the buyer will not be able to claim the tax credit, meaning they will pay full price for the vehicle.
This puts some buyers in a strange limbo, especially if they placed an order for the Model Y Performance. Some deliveries have already taken place, and some are scheduled before the end of the month, but many others are not expecting deliveries until January.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk takes latest barb at Bill Gates over Tesla short position
Bill Gates placed a massive short bet against Tesla of ~1% of our total shares, which might have cost him over $10B by now
Elon Musk took his latest barb at former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates over his short position against the company, which the two have had some tensions over for a number of years.
Gates admitted to Musk several years ago through a text message that he still held a short position against his sustainable car and energy company. Ironically, Gates had contacted Musk to explore philanthropic opportunities.
Elon Musk explains Bill Gates beef: He ‘placed a massive bet on Tesla dying’
Musk said he could not take the request seriously, especially as Gates was hoping to make money on the downfall of the one company taking EVs seriously.
The Tesla frontman has continued to take shots at Gates over the years from time to time, but the latest comment came as Musk’s net worth swelled to over $600 billion. He became the first person ever to reach that threshold earlier this week, when Tesla shares increased due to Robotaxi testing without any occupants.
Musk refreshed everyone’s memory with the recent post, stating that if Gates still has his short position against Tesla, he would have lost over $10 billion by now:
Bill Gates placed a massive short bet against Tesla of ~1% of our total shares, which might have cost him over $10B by now
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2025
Just a month ago, in mid-November, Musk issued his final warning to Gates over the short position, speculating whether the former Microsoft frontman had still held the bet against Tesla.
“If Gates hasn’t fully closed out the crazy short position he has held against Tesla for ~8 years, he had better do so soon,” Musk said. This came in response to The Gates Foundation dumping 65 percent of its Microsoft position.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sends final warning to Bill Gates over short position
Musk’s involvement in the U.S. government also drew criticism from Gates, as he said that the reductions proposed by DOGE against U.S.A.I.D. were “stunning” and could cause “millions of additional deaths of kids.”
“Gates is a huge liar,” Musk responded.
It is not known whether Gates still holds his Tesla short position.
Tesla dispels reports of ‘sales suspension’ in California
New EV tax credit rule could impact many EV buyers
