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Elon Musk shares first look at Tesla Model X zipping through a Boring Company tunnel
After winning the coveted contract to build Chicago’s high-speed transit tunnel, the Boring Company held a press conference at the city’s Block 37 Superstation to formally announce the tunneling startup’s high-profile project. Dubbed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel as the “X,” the high-speed tunnel system is designed to link downtown Chicago to O’Hare Airport.
Prior to the press conference, The Boring Company shared a video of a Tesla Model X being carried by “electric skates” through a tunnel on Twitter. While incredibly brief, the short clip gives an idea of the speed that Chicago commuters can expect from the tunneling startup’s transportation system.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made an appearance at Block 37 Superstation, sharing the stage with the city mayor. As noted by Chicago Tribune reporter Bill Ruthart on Twitter, Emanuel was very optimistic about the Boring Company’s project, stating that the high-speed tunnels would “not cost the city a penny” and that it builds on Chicago’s “legacy of innovation.” Emanuel noted that part of the reason behind the city’s decision to select the Boring Co. was Musk’s record and vision.
“We’re taking a bet on a guy who doesn’t like to fail — and his resources. There are a bunch of Teslas on the road. He put SpaceX together. He’s proven something. The risk — with no financial risk — is I’m betting on a guy who has proven in space, auto and now, a tunnel, that he can innovate and create something of the future,” the Chicago Mayor said.
Addressing Chicago’s press, Elon Musk expressed his thanks at the city and Mayor Emanuel for placing his faith in the Boring Co. Musk noted that he hopes to start digging in as soon as four months. Digging shall commence from both Loop and O’Hare ends. When asked about the high-speed tunnels’ funding, Musk noted that he is confident he can raise the estimated ~$1 billion for the project, considering that he has already raised $22 billion among all of his companies. The serial tech entrepreneur also noted that the downtown Chicago-O’Hare tunnel is “quite economically appealing.” Lastly, Musk announced that The Boring Company would tap both union and non-union workers for manpower.
The city of Chicago formally announces The Boring Company’s downtown-O’Hare tunneling project. [Credit: The Boring Company]
The Boring Company’s high-speed Chicago tunnel system is expected to accommodate almost 2,000 passengers per direction every hour, with pods leaving every 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Cost for the high-speed rail is estimated to be between $20-$25 per person, roughly half the price of a typical ride-share or cab. The trip is expected to last only 12 minutes with pods traveling more than 100 mph. The upcoming project’s preliminary route will be Block 37, Randolph St. west, under the Kennedy north, north under Halsted, northwest under Milwaukee, northwest under Elston before again crossing under the Kennedy near Bryn Mawr Avenue and heading west to O’Hare, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Boring Company and the Chicago mayor have noted that it is far too early to provide a concrete timeline for the completion of the high-speed tunnel system. Apart from handling the costs of the project, The Boring Company will also construct a new station at O’Hare and help in the completion of the Block 37 Superstation. Overall, the ~$1 billion tunnel is part of Chicago’s $8.5 billion overhaul of O’Hare Airport.
The Boring Company’s contract with Chicago stands as the tunneling startup’s first high-profile project. So far, the Boring Co. has only embarked on smaller-scale test projects in Los Angeles, as well as a tunnel beneath SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA, which will offer free demo rides to the public upon regulatory approval.
News
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end with no interventions.
A Tesla Model S has completed the first-ever full Cannonball Run using Full Self-Driving (FSD), traveling from Los Angeles to New York with zero interventions. The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end, fulfilling a long-discussed benchmark for autonomy.
A full FSD Cannonball Run
As per a report from The Drive, a 2024 Tesla Model S with AI4 and FSD v14.2.2.3 completed the 3,081-mile trip from Redondo Beach in Los Angeles to midtown Manhattan in New York City. The drive was completed by Alex Roy, a former automotive journalist and investor, along with a small team of autonomy experts.
Roy said FSD handled all driving tasks for the entirety of the route, including highway cruising, lane changes, navigation, and adverse weather conditions. The trip took a total of 58 hours and 22 minutes at an average speed of 64 mph, and about 10 hours were spent charging the vehicle. In later comments, Roy noted that he and his team cleaned out the Model S’ cameras during their stops to keep FSD’s performance optimal.
History made
The historic trip was quite impressive, considering that the journey was in the middle of winter. This meant that FSD didn’t just deal with other cars on the road. The vehicle also had to handle extreme cold, snow, ice, slush, and rain.
As per Roy in a post on X, FSD performed so well during the trip that the journey would have been completed faster if the Model S did not have people onboard. “Elon Musk was right. Once an autonomous vehicle is mature, most human input is error. A comedy of human errors added hours and hundreds of miles, but FSD stunned us with its consistent and comfortable behavior,” Roy wrote in a post on X.
Roy’s comments are quite notable as he has previously attempted Cannonball Runs using FSD on December 2024 and February 2025. Neither were zero intervention drives.
Elon Musk
Tesla removes Autopilot as standard, receives criticism online
The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders.
Tesla removed its basic Autopilot package as a standard feature in the United States. The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders, and shifts the company’s strategy towards paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
Tesla removes Autopilot
As per observations from the electric vehicle community on social media, Tesla no longer lists Autopilot as standard in its vehicles in the U.S. This suggests that features such as lane-centering and Autosteer have been removed as standard equipment. Previously, most Tesla vehicles came with Autopilot by default, which offers Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer.
The change resulted in backlash from some Tesla owners and EV observers, particularly as competing automakers, including mainstream players like Toyota, offer features like lane-centering as standard on many models, including budget vehicles.
That being said, the removal of Autopilot suggests that Tesla is concentrating its autonomy roadmap around FSD subscriptions rather than bundled driver-assistance features. It would be interesting to see how Tesla manages its vehicles’ standard safety features, as it seems out of character for Tesla to make its cars less safe over time.
Musk announces FSD price increases
Following the Autopilot changes, Elon Musk stated on X that Tesla is planning to raise subscription prices for FSD as its capabilities improve. In a post on X, Musk stated that the current $99-per-month price for supervised FSD would increase over time, especially as the system itself becomes more robust.
“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (Unsupervised FSD),” Musk wrote.
At the time of his recent post, Tesla still offers FSD as a one-time purchase for $8,000, but Elon Musk has confirmed that this option will be discontinued on February 14, leaving subscriptions as the only way to access the system.
Tesla has initiated Cybertruck deliveries in a new region for the first time, as the all-electric pickup has officially made its way to the United Arab Emirates, marking the newest territory to receive the polarizing truck.
Tesla launched orders for the Cybertruck in the Middle East back in September 2025, just months after the company confirmed that it planned to launch the pickup in the region, which happened in April.
I took a Tesla Cybertruck weekend Demo Drive – Here’s what I learned
By early October, Tesla launched the Cybertruck configurator in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, with pricing starting at around AED 404,900, or about $110,000 for the Dual Motor configuration.
This decision positioned the Gulf states as key early international markets, and Tesla was hoping to get the Cybertruck outside of North America for the first time, as it has still been tough to launch in other popular EV markets, like Europe and Asia.
By late 2025, Tesla had pushed delivery timelines slightly and aimed for an early 2026 delivery launch in the Middle East. The first official customer deliveries started this month, and a notable handover event occurred in Dubai’s Al Marmoom desert area, featuring a light and fire show.
Around 63 Cybertrucks made their way to customers during the event:
First @cybertruck deliveries in the UAE 🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/sN2rAxppUA
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) January 22, 2026
As of this month, the Cybertruck still remains available for configuration on Tesla’s websites for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Middle Eastern countries like Jordan and Israel. Deliveries are rolling out progressively, with the UAE leading as the first to see hands-on customer events.
In other markets, most notably Europe, there are still plenty of regulatory hurdles that Tesla is hoping to work through, but they may never be resolved. The issues come from the unique design features that conflict with the European Union’s (EU) stringent safety standards.
These standards include pedestrian protection regulations, which require vehicles to minimize injury risks in collisions. However, the Cybertruck features sharp edges and an ultra-hard stainless steel exoskeleton, and its rigid structure is seen as non-compliant with the EU’s list of preferred designs.
The vehicle’s gross weight is also above the 3.5-tonne threshold for standard vehicles, which has prompted Tesla to consider a more compact design. However, the company’s focus on autonomy and Robotaxi has likely pushed that out of the realm of possibility.
For now, Tesla will work with the governments that want it to succeed in their region, and the Middle East has been a great partner to the company with the launch of the Cybertruck.
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
Tesla removes Autopilot as standard, receives criticism online
