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The Boring Company is open to building tunnels for utility lines, says Elon Musk

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Concepts of The Boring Company’s futuristic, ultra-high-speed tunnels show a sleek system transporting passenger pods and private vehicles at speeds of around 124 mph (200 km/h). As revealed recently by Elon Musk during a “fireside chat” in Los Angeles, though, the tunneling startup is also open to building tunnels that are far less glamorous.

While addressing around 3,800 mayors and city officials from across the United States at the National League of Cities’ 2018 City Summit last week, Elon Musk stated that the Boring Company’s technology could be used to build tunnels for utility lines. Candidly conversing with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, Musk noted that his tunneling startup would even take on projects like sewer lines in the future.

“The Boring Co. is also going to do tunneling for, like, water transport, sewage, electrical. We’re not going to turn our noses up at sewage tunnels. We’re happy to do that too,” Musk said.

The Boring Company is built on the premise that current tunneling technologies and techniques still have areas for improvement. Just by reducing the size of the tunnels themselves, for one, The Boring Company expects to reduce tunneling costs by a factor of four. Elon Musk has also mentioned that the company is designing and building an all-electric tunnel boring machine, which would be capable of digging 10-15 times faster than a traditional TBM. Being small, the Boring Company’s tunnels are also capable of maintaining a vacuum, making them capable of supporting Hyperloop transportation systems in the future.

Ultimately, using The Boring Company’s tech to build tunnels for utility lines could prove strategic for cities. In a statement to Forbes, Constantine Samaras, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, noted that the Boring Company’s faster, cheaper, and smaller tunnels would likely be a big benefit to cities.

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“A lot of these systems (power, water, communications, and sewer lines) are old and in bad shape. Often, fixing utilities means cutting open the street and disrupting traffic. If the Boring Co. can use their tunneling technology to make it faster and cheaper to install and upgrade underground utilities, it will be a big benefit to cities,” Samaras stated.

The Boring Company’s site for its prototype garage-elevator shows activity. [Credit: Pauline Acalin/Teslarati]

Elon Musk might have found the Boring Company’s first customer for its sewage tunneling services too. During his chat with Musk, LA Mayor Garcetti candidly asked the Tesla and SpaceX CEO if Los Angeles could get the first sewage tunnel from The Boring Company. Elon Musk answered in the affirmative.

As the Boring Company prepares its Hawthorne test tunnel for its public showing on December 10, the company is also hard at work building its prototype garage-elevator concept at a private lot in 120th Street and Prairie Avenue. Photographs taken by Teslarati photographers Pauline Acalin and Tom Cross indicate that the Boring Company is moving fast to complete its futuristic garage-elevator concept, while constructing what appears to be a gantry for the tunnel boring machine it would use for its high-profile high-speed tunnel project in Chicago.

The Boring Company has the potential to disrupt several industries. With its high-speed tunnels, the tunneling startup could usher in an alternative, sustainable, and more efficient way of transportation. The company also has the potential to disrupt the low-cost housing market thanks to the Boring Bricks, which Musk estimates would cost around 10 cents per brick.

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 FSD successfully completes full coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions

Tesla community members celebrated the milestone on X, and the feat earned praise from some of the electric vehicle maker’s executives.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

A Tesla owner has successfully completed a full coast-to-coast drive across the United States on Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised. The trip was accomplished with zero interventions.

Tesla community members celebrated the milestone on X, and the feat earned praise from some of the electric vehicle maker’s executives. 

FSD Coast-to-Coast

The coast-to-coast feat was accomplished by Tesla owner Davis Moss, who drives a stealth gray Model 3 with AI4 hardware. Based on data from the FSD database and a community tracker, the last 10,638.8 miles Moss drove in his Model 3 were completed using FSD 100% of the time. His vehicle is equipped with FSD v14.2.1.25, which was installed 12 days ago.

As per Moss in a celebratory post on X, his Model 3 was able to complete a full coast-to-coast drive across the United States in 2 days and 20 hours. His trip started at the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles, CA, and it ended in Myrtle Beach, SC. Overall, his trip spanned 2,732.4 miles. 

“This was accomplished with Tesla FSD V14.2 with absolutely 0 disengagements of any kind even for all parking including at Tesla Superchargers,” Moss stated in his post. He also added in later comments that there were zero close calls during the trip.

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Tesla community celebrates 

The FSD milestone trip was widely lauded by members of the Tesla community, especially since a coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions has been cited by Elon Musk as a target since October 2016, when Autopilot 2.0 was unveiled. At the time, Musk initially estimated that a coast-to-coast drive across the United States should be possible by the end of 2017. Considering Moss’ feat in his Model 3, it appears that Elon Musk’s estimate was not impossible at all. It was just late.

Musk himself celebrated the milestone on X, and so did Tesla VP of AI Software Ashok Elluswamy, who wrote “World’s first fully autonomous coast-to-coast drive, done with Tesla self-driving v14. Congrats and thank you @DavidMoss!” in a post on X. The official Tesla North America account also celebrated the feat, writing “First Tesla to drive itself from coast to coast w/ FSD Supervised. 0 interventions, all FSD” on X.

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Elon Musk: Tesla Model Y is world’s best-selling car for 3rd year in a row

The Model Y has now established an impressive streak that would otherwise have been impossible before Tesla. 

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Elon Musk has announced that the Tesla Model Y has become the world’s best-selling car by volume for the third consecutive year, capping 2025 with another dominant performance. 

The Model Y has now established an impressive streak that would otherwise have been impossible before Tesla. 

Three years in a row

Musk posted on X: “Tesla Model Y is now officially the world’s best-selling car for the third year in a row!” The CEO’s comment echoed an update that Tesla included in its 2025 recap, which highlighted, among other things, the Model Y’s incredible streak. 

The Model Y has held the title since 2023, outperforming traditional leaders like the Toyota RAV4 and Corolla thanks to its bang-for-the-buck nature and its stellar combination of practicality, performance, and tech. The Model Y is also lauded as one of the safest vehicles on the road, making it an ideal choice for families in key markets such as China. 

An impressive 2025

The Model Y’s sales feat in 2025 is especially impressive considering the introduction of the vehicle’s new variant. Tesla’s changeover to the new Model Y across its global factories resulted in sales being paused for some time in the first quarter. As per Tesla’s Q1 2025 vehicle delivery and production report, “the changeover of Model Y lines across all four of our factories led to the loss of several weeks of production in Q1.” 

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This suggests that the Model Y’s sales remained strong in 2025 to the point where it could still claim the title of the world’s best-selling vehicle by volume, even with its sales being throttled during the first quarter of the year. It would then be interesting to see just how far the Model Y can go in 2026, especially considering the rollout of new variants like the six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y L, the affordable Model Y Standard, and the top-tier Model Y Performance. 

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Tesla shares epic 2025 recap video, confirms start of Cybercab production

The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has released an epic year-in-review video for 2025, recapping some of its major achievements from refreshed models to autonomy breakthroughs and production ramps. 

The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development while looking ahead to an even bigger 2026.

Tesla’s 2025 highlights recap

Tesla has had a busy 2025, as highlighted in the recap video. The video opened with Elon Musk explaining the company’s pursuit of sustainable abundance. A number of milestones were then highlighted, such as the rollout of FSD v14, Optimus’ numerous demos, the opening of the Tesla Diner in Hollywood, LA, the completion of the world’s first autonomous car delivery, and the launch of the Robotaxi network in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tesla also highlighted several of its accomplishments over the year. As per the company, the Model Y was the year’s best-selling vehicle globally again, and Teslas became more affordable than ever thanks to the Model 3 and Model Y Standard. Other key models were also rolled out, such as the refreshed Model S and X, as well as the new Model Y, the new Model Y Performance, and the six-seat, extended wheelbase Model Y L. 

The Megablock was also unveiled during the year, and the Supercharger Network grew by 18%. Over 1 million Powerwalls were also installed during the year, and the Cybertruck became the first EV truck to get both an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and an NHTSA 5-Star safety rating. 

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Cybercab production confirmed

Interestingly enough, Tesla also confirmed in its 2025 recap video that the production of the Cybercab has started. This bodes well for the vehicle, as it could result in the vehicle really being mass-produced in the first half of 2026. Elon Musk confirmed during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting that Cybercab production should earnestly start around April 2026

Musk has also noted that the Cybercab will be Tesla’s highest-volume vehicle yet, with the company aiming for an annual production rate of about 2 million units. “If you’ve seen the design of the Cybercab line, it doesn’t look like a normal car manufacturing line,” Musk said earlier this year. “It looks like a really high-speed consumer electronics line. In fact, the line will move so fast that actually people can’t even get close to it.”

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