Aerial footage of The Boring Company’s site in Bastrop, Texas, has shown that the tunneling startup is busy with what appears to be a new test tunnel. A short video taken of the site suggests that The Boring Company’s tunneling technology is inching forward.
Like other Elon Musk-related endeavors, The Boring Company has goals that lie far beyond its existing operations. Musk has touted the tunneling startup’s innovations as a potential way to solve traffic and urban congestion. Avid followers of Musk’s companies also speculate that The Boring Company’s technology may be used as part of SpaceX’s Mars colonization plans.
A key part of The Boring Company’s technology today is Prufrock, its all-electric tunnel-boring machine. Prufrock is designed to revolutionize tunnel digging, operating far quicker than conventional tunnel boring machines in the market. As noted by The Boring Company on its official website, “Prufrock’s medium-term goal is to exceed 1/10 of human walking speed, which is 7 miles per day.”
The @boringcompany has begun their second test tunnel in Bastrop, Texas. pic.twitter.com/PbnL2FbIEW
— Chap Ambrose (@chapambrose) February 15, 2023
Based on a video posted by Chap Ambrose, who currently resides beside The Boring Company’s Bastrop site, the testing of Prufrock is well underway. Ambrose only shared a short drone flyover of the site, but one could see a steady stream of dirt coming out of a conveyor system. Based on the video, it appeared that Prufrock was busy flexing its digging muscles at the time the video was taken.
Ambrose noted that the tunnel being dug in his video is the second test tunnel that The Boring Company has built in its Bastrop site. This may very well be true, considering that in October 2022, Elon Musk posted a video of Prufrock “porpoising” from the ground. At the time, the tunnel boring machine might have just completed its first tunnel.
The Boring Company may not attract the same amount of news coverage as Elon Musk’s other companies, but its work is quite exciting nonetheless. So far, The Boring Company is busy building out the Vegas Loop, an underground public transportation system in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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