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Elon Musk’s Boring Company becomes frontrunner for Ontario Airport high-speed tunnel
It appears that Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, The Boring Company, is poised to secure a high-profile contract to build the Ontario Airport Loop, a high-speed transport tunnel connecting Rancho Cucamonga with the Ontario International Airport. The Boring Company’s tunnel will be a faster and more cost-effective alternative to above ground rail projects, which were previously proposed for the route.
The new Boring Co. project has received widespread support from the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors, who voted unanimously in favor of the system. As noted by The Mercury News, the Board of Directors also directed staff to postpone a $3 million study that explores other airport-rail connection options.
According to San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman, the Boring Company’s transport tunnels are a great, affordable alternative to more traditional rail systems, which take far longer to construct. Hagman was actually able to see the Boring Company’s technology in person, having visited the startup’s Hawthorne site and taken a test ride through the test tunnel.
“It gets us thinking in a new way. This is something that can be done relatively quickly and inexpensively,” he said.
The Boring Company’s Rancho Cucamonga-Ontario Airport tunnel will be 2.8 miles long. The tunnels themselves will be 14 feet in diameter and about 35 feet underground. For now, the proposal involves using electric vehicles with rubber tires traveling up to 127 mph from point to point, though plans are reportedly also underway to introduce electric vans for the transport system.
These electric vans are capable of seating up to 12 people and their luggage. The vehicles, which are being developed by Tesla, will boost the capacity of the system to about 1,200 per day, or over 10 million per year provided that they see a mass rollout. These electric vans seem very similar to the Boring Company’s mass transport units that were mentioned back when the startup was being considered for the Chicago Airport transport line.
The Ontario Airport Loop is expected to cost between $45-$60 million, though the project’s entire cost could reach about $75 million when the price of adding an operations center, management services, and operators’ wages is added. Yet despite this, $75 million is still a far cry from the estimated $1-$1.5 billion light rail extension that was also being considered.
The Boring Company’s Ontario Airport Loop is expected to be completed in about four years, far quicker than the 10 years that the construction of a light rail extension requires. Carrie Schindler, SBCTA director of transit and rail, explained this in a statement to local news outlets. “It is much more cost-effective. I do anticipate the need for outside funding but at a reduced level as compared to building surface projects,” the transit and rail director said.
The Boring Company may have only been around for a few years, but the tunneling startup seems to be hitting its stride with its projects. Prior to the Ontario Airport Loop, the Boring Co. has been contracted to build a Loop system for the Las Vegas Convention Center, which would allow visitors to the expansive site to travel from one end of the complex to the other in just a few minutes. The progress of the Las Vegas Loop has been quick, with the digging of both tunnels being completed recently.
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Tesla Cybercab tests are going on overdrive with production-ready units
Tesla is ramping its real-world tests of the Cybercab, with multiple sightings of the vehicle being reported across social media this week.
Tesla is ramping its real-world tests of the Cybercab, with multiple sightings of the autonomous two-seater being reported across social media this week. Based on videos of the vehicle that have been shared online, it appears that Cybercab tests are underway across multiple states.
Recent Cybercab sightings
Reports of Cybercab tests have ramped this week, with a vehicle that looked like a production-ready prototype being spotted at Apple’s Visitor Center in California. The vehicle in this sighting was interesting as it was equipped with a steering wheel. The vehicle also featured some changes to the design of its brake lights.
The Cybercab was also filmed testing at the Fremont factory’s test track, which also seemed to involve a vehicle that looked production-ready. This also seemed to be the case for a Cybercab that was spotted in Austin, Texas, which happened to be undergoing real-world tests. Overall, these sightings suggest that Cybercab testing is fully underway, and the vehicle is really moving towards production.
Production design all but finalized?
Recently, a near-production-ready Cybercab was showcased at Tesla’s Santana Row showroom in San Jose. The vehicle was equipped with frameless windows, dual windshield wipers, powered butterfly door struts, an extended front splitter, an updated lightbar, new wheel covers, and a license plate bracket. Interior updates include redesigned dash/door panels, refined seats with center cupholders, updated carpet, and what appeared to be improved legroom.
There seems to be a pretty good chance that the Cybercab’s design has been all but finalized, at least considering Elon Musk’s comments at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting. During the event, Musk confirmed that the vehicle will enter production around April 2026, and its production targets will be quite ambitious.
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Tesla gets a win in Sweden as union withdraws potentially “illegal” blockade
As per recent reports, the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla action might have been illegal.
Swedish union Vision has withdrawn its sympathy blockade against Tesla’s planned service center and showroom in Kalmar. As per recent reports, the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla action might have been illegal.
Vision’s decision to pull the blockade
Vision announced the blockade in early December, stating that it was targeting the administrative handling of Tesla’s facility permits in Kalmar municipality. The sympathy measure was expected to start Monday, but was formally withdrawn via documents sent to the Mediation Institute and Kalmar Municipality last week.
As noted in a Daggers Arbete report, plans for the strike were ultimately pulled after employer group SKR highlighted potential illegality under the Public Employment Act. Vision stressed its continued backing for the Swedish labor model, though Deputy negotiation manager Oskar Pettersson explained that the Vision union and IF Metall made the decision to cancel the planned strike together.
“We will not continue to challenge the regulations,” Petterson said. “The objection was of a technical nature. We made the assessment together with IF Metall that we were not in a position to challenge the legal assessment of whether we could take this particular action against Tesla. Therefore, we chose to revoke the notice itself.”
The SKR’s warning
Petterson also stated that SKR’s technical objection to the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla strike framed the protest as an unauthorized act. “It was a legal assessment of the situation. Both for us and for IF Metall, it is important to be clear that we stand for the Swedish model. But we should not continue to challenge the regulations and risk getting judgments that lead nowhere in the application of the regulations,” he said.
Vision ultimately canceled its planned blockade against Tesla on December 9. With Vision’s withdrawal, few obstacles remain for Tesla’s long-planned Kalmar site. A foreign electrical firm completed work this fall, and Tesla’s Careers page currently lists a full-time service manager position based there, signaling an imminent opening.
Tesla Semi Program Director Dan Priestly teased the major improvements to the all-electric Class 8 truck on Thursday night, following the company’s decision to overhaul the design earlier this year.
Priestley said he drove the Semi on Thursday, and the improvements appear to be welcomed by one of the minds behind the project. “Our customers are going to love it,” he concluded.
Just drove the redesigned Semi. Our customers are going to love it. https://t.co/KZ88sf1CDL
— Dan Priestley (@danWpriestley) December 19, 2025
The small detail does not seem like much, but it is coming from someone who has been involved in the development of the truck from A to Z. Priestley has been involved in the Semi program since November 2015 and has slowly worked his way through the ranks, and currently stands as the Director of the program.
Tesla Semi undergoes major redesign as dedicated factory preps for deliveries
Tesla made some major changes to the Semi design as it announced at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting that it changed the look and design to welcome improvements in efficiency.
Initially, Tesla adopted the blade-like light bar for the Semi, similar to the one that is present on the Model Y Premium and the Cybertruck.
Additionally, there are some slight aesthetic changes to help with efficiency, including a redesigned bumper with improved aero channels, a smaller wraparound windshield, and a smoother roofline for better aero performance.
All of these changes came as the company’s Semi Factory, which is located on Gigafactory Nevada’s property, was finishing up construction in preparation for initial production phases, as Tesla is planning to ramp up manufacturing next year. CEO Elon Musk has said the Semi has attracted “ridiculous demand.”
The Semi has already gathered many large companies that have signed up to buy units, including Frito-Lay and PepsiCo., which have been helping Tesla test the vehicle in a pilot program to test range, efficiency, and other important metrics that will be a major selling point.
Tesla will be the Semi’s first user, though, and the truck will help solve some of the company’s logistics needs in the coming years.
Tesla Cybercab tests are going on overdrive with production-ready units
Tesla gets a win in Sweden as union withdraws potentially “illegal” blockade
