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Elon Musk’s Boring Company could help build CERN’s next-generation LHC tunnel

(Photo: CERN)

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The European Organization for Nuclear Research, more commonly known as CERN, recently published an ambitious proposal to build what could only be described as a mammoth accelerator that’s nearly four times as long and up to six times more powerful as its 27-km Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which studies the tiniest particles that make up all matter, dark matter, and infamously, black holes. The project is yet to be greenlit, but if a recent tweet from SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is any indication, The Boring Company could play a part in the construction of the ambitious project.

In a tweet on Monday, Musk noted that the director of CERN had been quite interested in the tunneling technologies of The Boring Company, which could play a part in saving costs for the construction of the agency’s next-generation particle collider. Musk noted that by using The Boring Company’s tunnels, the project would likely save “several billion Euros.”

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The particle physics laboratory, which operates in a site near Geneva, Switzerland, outlined its plans for the 100-km LHC successor, dubbed as the “Future Circular Collider” (FCC), last Tuesday. The FCC is expected to replace the LHC, whose most notable success so far has been the discovery of the Higgs boson, a previously-theoretical particle that gives mass to all matter. Since the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, though, CERN’s Large Hadron Collider has not been able to discover any new particles of the same significance. This, according to Gian Francesco Giudice, CERN’s theory department head, highlights a need to push collider technologies forward.

“Today, exploring the highest possible energies with bold projects is our best hope to crack some of the mysteries of nature at the most fundamental level,” he said, according to Nature.

The possibilities that could be unlocked by a project as ambitious as the Future Circular Collider could easily come from a sci-fi tale. It would not be an exaggeration to state that the FCC would enable physicists to open the door to as-yet-unknown physics, while helping answer a number of notable questions about the universe. First off, the FCC would help CERN scientists study the Higgs boson more extensively — something that is not possible with the LHD. The project is also expected to allow scientists to explore topics such as dark matter and antimatter.

CERN’s Future Circular Collider is expected to be four times as large and up to six times more powerful than its predecessor. (Photos: CERN)

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While the possibilities presented by CERN’s proposed 100-km particle collider are vast, the Future Circular Collider does have its fair share of drawbacks — the most notable of which is the cost of the entire project. CERN’s report on the FCC estimates that the project’s tunnels alone would cost €5 billion ($5.7 billion) to build. Another €4 billion ($4.6 billion) is expected to be required for the first collider (which will collide leptons), while €4 billion ($4.6 billion) would likely be needed for the final collider (which is designed to collide protons). Provided that the ambitious project does not meet any substantial difficulties in its construction, the FCC could be operational by 2040.

This is where The Boring Company’s technologies could come in. The tunneling startup, after all, aims to reduce the costs of tunneling through optimizations in the digging process. So far, The Boring Company is only involved in projects involving transportation, such as the construction of the high-profile downtown Chicago-O’Hare high-speed transport line. The cost savings presented by The Boring Company’s tunnels were particularly evident when Elon Musk revealed the cost of the startup’s mile-long test tunnel in Hawthorne, CA last December. During his presentation, Musk noted that the Hawthorne tunnel cost $10 million to construct. This is far more affordable than traditional tunneling costs, which cost most U.S. local and state governments an average of $200-$500 million dollars per mile.

Granted, the requirements for CERN’s 100-km tunnel would be far more than demanding than the otherwise straightforward tunnels that The Boring Company will construct in the immediate future. That said, the rather generous timeframe for the Future Circular Collider would also give The Boring Company some time to further refine and optimize its tunneling technologies. For now, though, the prospect of CERN’s next-generation LHD’s tunnels being dug by The Boring Company would remain an idea that would only get more plausible over time.

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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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Tesla announces crazy new Full Self-Driving milestone

The number of miles traveled has contextual significance for two reasons: one being the milestone itself, and another being Tesla’s continuing progress toward 10 billion miles of training data to achieve what CEO Elon Musk says will be the threshold needed to achieve unsupervised self-driving.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has announced a crazy new Full Self-Driving milestone, as it has officially confirmed drivers have surpassed over 8 billion miles traveled using the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite for semi-autonomous travel.

The FSD (Supervised) suite is one of the most robust on the market, and is among the safest from a data perspective available to the public.

On Wednesday, Tesla confirmed in a post on X that it has officially surpassed the 8 billion-mile mark, just a few months after reaching 7 billion cumulative miles, which was announced on December 27, 2025.

The number of miles traveled has contextual significance for two reasons: one being the milestone itself, and another being Tesla’s continuing progress toward 10 billion miles of training data to achieve what CEO Elon Musk says will be the threshold needed to achieve unsupervised self-driving.

The milestone itself is significant, especially considering Tesla has continued to gain valuable data from every mile traveled. However, the pace at which it is gathering these miles is getting faster.

Secondly, in January, Musk said the company would need “roughly 10 billion miles of training data” to achieve safe and unsupervised self-driving. “Reality has a super long tail of complexity,” Musk said.

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Training data primarily means the fleet’s accumulated real-world miles that Tesla uses to train and improve its end-to-end AI models. This data captures the “long tail” — extremely rare, complex, or unpredictable situations that simulations alone cannot fully replicate at scale.

This is not the same as the total miles driven on Full Self-Driving, which is the 8 billion miles milestone that is being celebrated here.

The FSD-supervised miles contribute heavily to the training data, but the 10 billion figure is an estimate of the cumulative real-world exposure needed overall to push the system to human-level reliability.

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Tesla Cybercab production begins: The end of car ownership as we know it?

While this could unlock unprecedented mobility abundance — cheaper rides, reduced congestion, freed-up urban space, and massive environmental gains — it risks massive job displacement in ride-hailing, taxi services, and related sectors, forcing society to confront whether the benefits of AI-driven autonomy will outweigh the human costs.

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Credit: Tesla | X

The first Tesla Cybercab rolled off of production lines at Gigafactory Texas yesterday, and it is more than just a simple manufacturing milestone for the company — it’s the opening salvo in a profound economic transformation.

Priced at under $30,000 with volume production slated for April, the steering-wheel-free, pedal-less Robotaxi-geared vehicle promises to make personal car ownership optional for many, slashing transportation costs to as little as $0.20 per mile through shared fleets and high utilization.

While this could unlock unprecedented mobility abundance — cheaper rides, reduced congestion, freed-up urban space, and massive environmental gains — it risks massive job displacement in ride-hailing, taxi services, and related sectors, forcing society to confront whether the benefits of AI-driven autonomy will outweigh the human costs.

Let’s examine the positives and negatives of what the Cybercab could mean for passenger transportation and vehicle ownership as we know it.

The Promise – A Radical Shift in Transportation Economics

Tesla has geared every portion of the Cybercab to be cheaper and more efficient. Even its design — a compact, two-seater, optimized for fleets and ride-sharing, the development of inductive charging, around 300 miles of range on a small battery, half the parts of the Model 3, and revolutionary “unboxed” manufacturing — is all geared toward rapid production.

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Operating at a fraction of what today’s rideshare prices are, the Cybercab enables on-demand autonomy for a variety of people in a variety of situations.

Tesla ups Robotaxi fare price to another comical figure with service area expansion

It could also be the way people escape expensive and risky car ownership. Buying a vehicle requires expensive monthly commitments, including insurance and a payment if financed. It also immediately depreciates.

However, Cybercab could unlock potential profitability for owning a car by adding it to the Robotaxi network, enabling passive income. Cities could have parking lots repurposed into parks or housing, and emissions would drop as shared electric vehicles would outnumber gas cars (in time).

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The first step of Tesla’s massive production efforts for the Cybercab could lead to millions of units annually, turning transportation into a utility like electricity — always available, cheap, and safe.

The Dark Side – Job Losses and Industry Upheaval

With Robotaxi and Cybercab, they present the same negatives as broadening AI — there’s a direct threat to the economy.

Uber, Lyft, and traditional taxis will rely on human drivers. Robotaxi will eliminate that labor cost, potentially displacing millions of jobs globally. In the U.S. alone, ride-hailing accounts for billions of miles of travel each year.

There are also potential ripple effects, as suppliers, mechanics, insurance adjusters, and even public transit could see reduced demand as shared autonomy grows. Past automation waves show job creation lags behind destruction, especially for lower-skilled workers.

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Gig workers, like those who are seeking flexible income, face the brunt of this. Displaced drivers may struggle to retrain amid broader AI job shifts, as 2025 estimates bring between 50,000 and 300,000 layoffs tied to artificial intelligence.

It could also bring major changes to the overall competitive landscape. While Waymo and Uber have partnered, Tesla’s scale and lower costs could trigger a price war, squeezing incumbents and accelerating consolidation.

Balancing Act – Who Wins and Who Loses

There are two sides to this story, as there are with every other one.

The winners are consumers, Tesla investors, cities, and the environment. Consumers will see lower costs and safer mobility, while potentially alleviating themselves of awkward small talk in ride-sharing applications, a bigger complaint than one might think.

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Elon Musk confirms Tesla Cybercab pricing and consumer release date

Tesla investors will be obvious winners, as the launch of self-driving rideshare programs on the company’s behalf will likely swell the company’s valuation and increase its share price.

Cities will have less traffic and parking needs, giving more room for housing or retail needs. Meanwhile, the environment will benefit from fewer tailpipes and more efficient fleets.

A Call for Thoughtful Transition

The Cybercab’s production debut forces us to weigh innovation against equity.

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If Tesla delivers on its timeline and autonomy proves reliable, it could herald an era of abundant, affordable mobility that redefines urban life. But without proactive policies — retraining, safety nets, phased deployment — this revolution risks widening inequality and leaving millions behind.

The real question isn’t whether the Cybercab will disrupt — it’s already starting — it’s whether society is prepared for the economic earthquake it unleashes.

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Tesla Model 3 wins Edmunds’ Best EV of 2026 award

The publication rated the Model 3 at an 8.1 out of 10, and with its most recent upgrades and changes, Edmunds says, “This is the best Model 3 yet.”

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Credit: Tesla

The Tesla Model 3 has won Edmunds‘ Top Rated Electric Car of 2026 award, beating out several other highly-rated and exceptional EV offerings from various manufacturers.

This is the second consecutive year the Model 3 beat out other cars like the Model Y, Audi A6 Sportback E-tron, and the BMW i5.

The car, which is Tesla’s second-best-selling vehicle behind the popular Model Y crossover, has been in the company’s lineup for nearly a decade. It offers essentially everything consumers could want from an EV, including range, a quality interior, performance, and Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite, which is one of the best in the world.

The publication rated the Model 3 at an 8.1 out of 10, and with its most recent upgrades and changes, Edmunds says, “This is the best Model 3 yet.”

In its Top Rated EVs piece on its website, it said about the Model 3:

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“The Tesla Model 3 might be the best value electric car you can buy, combining an Edmunds Rating of 8.1 out of 10, a starting price of $43,880, and an Edmunds-tested range of 338 miles. This is the best Model 3 yet. It is impressively well-rounded thanks to improved build quality, ride comfort, and a compelling combination of efficiency, performance, and value.”

Additionally, Jonathan Elfalan, Edmunds’ Director of Vehicle Testing, said:

“The Model 3 offers just about the perfect combination of everything — speed, range, comfort, space, tech, accessibility, and convenience. It’s a no-brainer if you want a sensible EV.”

The Model 3 is the perfect balance of performance and practicality. With the numerous advantages that an EV offers, the Model 3 also comes in at an affordable $36,990 for its Rear-Wheel Drive trim level.

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