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Musk’s Boring Company starts hiring key personnel in preparation for tunnel projects

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As The Boring Company starts preparing for its growing list of tunneling projects, the startup has begun filling in a number of key positions that would enable it to bring Elon Musk’s vision of futuristic, high-speed tunnel systems into reality. Several key hires have already been filled by the company, and based on the job positions listed on its official website; the Boring Co. seems to be looking to expand its workforce even more.

The Boring Company’s apparent hiring efforts are considered a strategic choice for the startup, considering that it is currently involved in several initiatives that would require manpower. Back in June alone, The Boring Company won a high-profile contract to build an ultra high-speed tunnel system connecting downtown Chicago to O’Hare airport, beating out large contractors also bidding on the project. The initiative, which will utilize Elon Musk’s Loop System concept, is expected to begin as soon as permits and all the paperwork are completed.

Chicago is only one of the startup’s projects. The Boring Co. is also preparing for other initiatives, such as the 3.6-mile Dugout Loop in Los Angeles, which would help commuters travel to and from Dodgers Stadium. Permits for a tunnel system designed to enable travel between New York and Washington D.C. in less than 30 minutes have also been filed. 

To aid the company in its series of projects, The Boring Co. has hired several key personnel, among them being Mike Wongkaew, who used to work for Mott MacDonald, which is part of the consortium that lost to the tunneling startup in the bid for the Chicago-O’Hare project. Wongkaew, who worked for Mott MacDonald as a principal engineer for structures and tunnel design manager, started his employment with the Boring Company last April as the startup’s chief tunnel engineer.

The Boring Company has also hired Patrick O’Leary as a structures engineering designer. O’Leary is no stranger to Elon Musk’s companies and his ambitious projects, having worked for SpaceX in the past. Prior to his work at the Boring Co., though, O’Leary did a brief stint at Virgin Orbit. Michael Sagan, a SpaceX deputy general counsel for nearly a decade, is also credited as being one of the first executives who played an important part in the company’s bid for the Chicago-O’Hare tunnel project.

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The Boring Company’s official website lists numerous job openings as well, including posts for manufacturing, fluid power, software, electrical and industrial automation engineers, as well as safety specialists, gas testers, and Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) operators.

The Boring Company might be less than two years old, but the tunneling startup is steadily showing that it has the potential to become a formidable force in the construction and transportation industry. While it remains to be seen if the company’s high-speed tunnels would indeed prove to be a viable alternative form of transportation, Berenberg analyst Alexander Haissl noted that if the company proves to be successful in the Chicago-O’Hare project, it could end up having a valuation of up to $16 billion.

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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Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations

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tesla diner
Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.

The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:

On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.

Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.

Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand

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Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.

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Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings

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A red Tesla Roadster driving around a turn
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.

Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to BloombergShares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.

Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.

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However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.

S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.

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

Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.

Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.

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At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.

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Tesla door handle saga gets its latest chapter and a big change is coming

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Credit: Tesla | Model 3 Owner's Manual

Tesla’s long-standing saga regarding its door handles and a manual release has entered its latest chapter, and as a result, a big change is coming.

On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied Tesla’s petition that was seeking a defect investigation into roughly 180,000 Model 3 vehicles for an issue involving the emergency mechanical door release.

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NHTSA said that Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect in the door handles or their emergency releases. Instead, the agency determined that it would rather solve the issue of the lack of labeling or location of emergency mechanical door releases and the federal safety rules that govern them.

Essentially, the NHTSA wants to create and enforce rules that would require automakers to make emergency door latch releases more clearly labeled in a car. Despite a Tesla having manual door releases on all four passenger doors, many people do not know they exist or how they work.

Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix

In recent times, Tesla has faced some criticism involving its door handles, specifically because some occupants have reported that they are unable to exit their vehicles after losing power. The door handles on a Tesla are electronically operated, but in the event that the 12V battery dies, there is a manual release that can be used.

The NHTSA only identified a single complaint involving the mechanical door releases: a 2022 Model 3 owner said the release was concealed and unlabeled after the vehicle lost power after a front-end collision. It has also already started to create a separate rulemaking process to make emergency door-egress systems more obvious.

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It should be noted that all Teslas have mechanical emergency door releases, but they are placed in various locations as the vehicles have aged and been redesigned from year to year. Refer to the safety manual for your vehicle if you have any confusion about where the emergency releases are and how they work.

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