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Elon Musk’s Boring Company breaks ground for garage-elevator construction

[Credit: Tom Cross/Teslarati]

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7 years ago

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Last month, Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, The Boring Company, was granted an approval by the city council of Hawthorne, CA to build a prototype garage-elevator concept that would be linked to one of the company’s high-speed tunnels. Recent photos from Teslarati photographers Tom Cross and Pauline Acalin reveal that construction of the prototype elevator concept has already begun.

The Boring Company’s prototype garage-elevator is being built west of SpaceX’s Hawthorne facility. The location of the futuristic garage is no accident, as the startup plans to have cars enter the tunnel from the SpaceX campus, move through the tunnel and on to the garage-elevator, and then travel back to SpaceX as part of the concept’s tests. Adopting such a process allows The Boring Co. to avoid creating additional traffic on the street.

Photos captured by Teslarati photographers reveal that The Boring Company has broken ground on the site of its recently-announced garage-elevator. While the startup has not officially announced that the construction corresponds to the planned elevator concept, the site’s location on 120th St. near Prairie Avenue matches the address of the project that the company confirmed to The Mercury Times last month. Furthermore, the pit’s sheer scale fits well with the company’s plans to dig a hole to extract segments of its tunnel boring machine (TBM).

The site of the Boring Company’s excavation for its garage-elevator prototype. [Credit: Tom Cross and Pauline Acalin/Teslarati]

Looking at the images of the construction in progress, it appears that the hole being excavated is around 30 feet or more in diameter. This is quite substantial, considering that graphics provided by the tunneling startup show the garage-elevator transporting cars one at a time. As noted by AutomobileElevator, a company in the business of providing car elevators, lifts that are designed for large vehicles like full-sized SUVs usually have dimensions of 9.3 x 20 x 7 feet – significantly smaller than the pit in the Boring Company’s ongoing excavation. With this in mind, it appears that the tunneling startup’s garage-elevator, once complete, would have enough space to accommodate large mainstream vehicles like full-sized SUVs and trucks.

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The Boring Company’s proposed prototype garage-elevator concept. [Credit: The Boring Company]

In a comment about the garage-elevator, Boring Company representative Jane Labanowski noted that the prototype concept would be an essential part of the tunneling startup’s vision for the future. The garage-elevator, if any, would serve as convenient entry point for the company’s high-speed tunnel system, particularly for those in residential areas.

“It’s an important part of the longer-term vision the company is trying to build,” she said.

The Boring Company might be a newcomer in the transportation industry that is more well-known for its quirky merchandise such as the Boring Company Not-a-Flamethrower, but the tunneling startup is already starting to gain contracts for high-profile projects. Earlier this year, for example, the Boring Company won a contract for the construction of the downtown Chicago-O’Hare high-speed transport line, beating larger, more experienced conglomerates which were also bidding on the project. The Chicago project would feature the Loop system, which features Tesla-made fully-electric pods capable of transporting up to 16 people at a time at speed of up to 150 mph.

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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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GM CEO Mary Barra says she told Biden to give Tesla and Musk EV credit

“He was crediting me, and I said, ‘Actually, I think a lot of that credit goes to Elon and Tesla…You know me, Andrew. I don’t want to take credit for things.”

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11 hours ago

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December 3, 2025

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General Motors CEO Mary Barra said in a new interview on Wednesday that she told President Joe Biden to credit Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, for the widespread electric vehicle transition.

She said she told Biden this after the former President credited her and GM for leading EV efforts in the United States.

During an interview at the New York Times Dealbook Summit with Andrew Ross Sorkin, Barra said she told Biden that crediting her was essentially a mistake, and that Musk and Tesla should have been explicitly mentioned (via Business Insider):

“He was crediting me, and I said, ‘Actually, I think a lot of that credit goes to Elon and Tesla…You know me, Andrew. I don’t want to take credit for things.”

Back in 2021, President Biden visited GM’s “Factory Zero” plant in Detroit, which was the centerpiece of the company’s massive transition to EVs. The former President went on to discuss the EV industry, and claimed that GM and Barra were the true leaders who caused the change:

“In the auto industry, Detroit is leading the world in electric vehicles. You know how critical it is? Mary, I remember talking to you way back in January about the need for America to lead in electric vehicles. I can remember your dramatic announcement that by 2035, GM would be 100% electric. You changed the whole story, Mary. You did, Mary. You electrified the entire automotive industry. I’m serious. You led, and it matters.”

People were baffled by the President’s decision to highlight GM and Barra, and not Tesla and Musk, who truly started the transition to EVs. GM, Ford, and many other companies only followed in the footsteps of Tesla after it started to take market share from them.

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Elon Musk and Tesla try to save legacy automakers from Déjà vu

Musk would eventually go on to talk about Biden’s words later on:

“They have so much power over the White House that they can exclude Tesla from an EV Summit. And, in case the first thing, in case that wasn’t enough, then you have President Biden with Mary Barra at a subsequent event, congratulating Mary for having led the EV revolution.”

In Q4 2021, which was shortly after Biden’s comments, Tesla delivered 300,000 EVs. GM delivered just 26.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving shows confident navigation in heavy snow

So far, from what we’ve seen, snow has not been a huge issue for the most recent Full Self-Driving release. It seems to be acting confidently and handling even snow-covered roads with relative ease.

Published

14 hours ago

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December 3, 2025

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Credit: Grok

Tesla Full Self-Driving is getting its first taste of Winter weather for late 2025, as snow is starting to fall all across the United States.

The suite has been vastly improved after Tesla released v14 to many owners with capable hardware, and driving performance, along with overall behavior, has really been something to admire. This is by far the best version of FSD Tesla has ever released, and although there are a handful of regressions with each subsequent release, they are usually cleared up within a week or two.

Tesla is releasing a modified version of FSD v14 for Hardware 3 owners: here’s when

However, adverse weather conditions are something that Tesla will have to confront, as heavy rain, snow, and other interesting situations are bound to occur. In order for the vehicles to be fully autonomous, they will have to go through these scenarios safely and accurately.

One big issue I’ve had, especially in heavy rain, is that the camera vision might be obstructed, which will display messages that certain features’ performance might be degraded.

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So far, from what we’ve seen, snow has not been a huge issue for the most recent Full Self-Driving release. It seems to be acting confidently and handling even snow-covered roads with relative ease:

Moving into the winter months, it will be very interesting to see how FSD handles even more concerning conditions, especially with black ice, freezing rain and snow mix, and other things that happen during colder conditions.

We are excited to test it ourselves, but I am waiting for heavy snowfall to make it to Pennsylvania so I can truly push it to the limit.

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Tesla hosts Rome Mayor for first Italian FSD Supervised road demo

The event marked the first time an Italian mayor tested the advanced driver-assistance system in person in Rome’s urban streets.

Published

19 hours ago

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December 3, 2025

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Credit: @andst7/X

Tesla definitely seems to be actively engaging European officials on FSD’s capabilities, with the company hosting Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and Mobility Assessor Eugenio Patanè for a hands-on road demonstration. 

The event marked the first time an Italian mayor tested the advanced driver-assistance system in person in Rome’s urban streets. This comes amid Tesla’s push for FSD’s EU regulatory approvals in the coming year.

Rome officials experience FSD Supervised

Tesla conducted the demo using a Model 3 equipped with Full Self-Driving (Supervised), tackling typical Roman traffic including complex intersections, roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and mixed users like cars, bikes and scooters.

The system showcased AI-based assisted driving, prioritizing safety while maintaining flow. FSD also handled overtakes and lane decisions, though with constant driver supervision.

Investor Andrea Stroppa detailed the event on X, noting the system’s potential to reduce severe collision risks by up to seven times compared to traditional driving, based on Tesla’s data from billions of global fleet miles. The session highlighted FSD’s role as an assistance tool in its Supervised form, not a replacement, with the driver fully responsible at all times.

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Path to European rollout

Tesla has logged over 1 million kilometers of testing across 17 European countries, including Italy, to refine FSD for local conditions. The fact that Rome officials personally tested FSD Supervised bodes well for the program’s approval, as it suggests that key individuals are closely watching Tesla’s efforts and innovations.

Assessor Patanè also highlighted the administration’s interest in technologies that boost road safety and urban travel quality, viewing them as aids for both private and public transport while respecting rules.

Replies on X urged involving Italy’s Transport Ministry to speed approvals, with one user noting, “Great idea to involve the mayor! It would be necessary to involve components of the Ministry of Transport and the government as soon as possible: it’s they who can accelerate the approval of FSD in Italy.”

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