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Musk’s Boring Company shares glimpse of Boring Bricks being produced
Just a bit over a week since teasing an image of a gantry that would be utilized for the downtown Chicago-O’Hare high-speed transit line, Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, The Boring Company, has uploaded a clip of its Boring Bricks being manufactured.
The short video of the Boring Bricks being produced showcases the unique characteristics of the bricks themselves, such as its slots that enable seamless interlocking. The recently-uploaded clip, while very brief, does give the impression that the production of the earth-made bricks is well underway.
Bricks! pic.twitter.com/6fNROJ86sN
— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) July 13, 2018
The Boring Company’s bricks were initially announced by Elon Musk back in March, when he stated that the new “merch” would be coming soon. The company had only finished selling its Not-a-Flamethrowers by this time, and Musk’s massive Twitter following was eager to see what product the tunneling startup would offer next. According to Musk when he announced the earth bricks, the Boring Bricks would be used to create models of sculptures and buildings. Considering that the blocks would be made from tunneling rock from the Boring Co’s projects, the products would also be rated for California seismic loads, making them incredibly durable.
While Musk at first noted that the bricks would be used to create garden-scale earth replicas of famous landmarks and buildings, it did not take long before one of the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s followers on Twitter asked if the bricks could be used for low-cost housing projects. Musk promptly stated that the interlocking bricks would feature a surface finish, which would enable people to “build the outer walls of a small house in a day or so.”
By May, Musk reiterated his intentions to use the Boring Company’s bricks as material for affordable housing, and during the tunneling startup’s information session at the Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles, the interlocking earth bricks were revealed to the public. A sample of the Boring Brick was also used as a platform for Gary the Snail’s home, the Boring Company’s pet-slash-mascot-of-sorts, during the information session. Musk’s presentation further revealed images of the bricks being used as materials for a wall, as well as an Egyptian-themed model kit.
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The Boring Company’s bricks. [Credit: The Boring Co.]
Apart from serving as materials for low-cost housing and model kits, the Boring Company is also looking at using the bricks for its tunnels. This particular idea has been outlined by the company in its FAQ for months, even before Musk announced the blocks on Twitter.
“The Boring Company is investigating technologies that will recycle the earth into useful bricks to be used to build structures. This is not a new concept, as buildings have been constructed from Earth for thousands of years including, according to recent evidence, the Pyramids. These bricks can potentially be used as a portion of the tunnel lining itself, which is typically built from concrete.”
The Boring Company recently won a high-profile contract to build a high-speed transport line connecting downtown Chicago to O’Hare airport. The project, which Musk expects will cost ~$1 billion, is expected to break ground within the next few months. The preparations for the transit line are already underway, with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently traveling to the headquarters of the Department of Transportation in Washington, in order to discuss the upcoming project with DOT officials.
Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
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Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
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This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
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Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
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Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
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