In July, billionaire Elon Musk’s The Boring Company announced a plan to build a parallel pair of 9.5-mile-long underground tunnels stretching from the Nashville International Airport to the downtown core.
The Boring Company says the loop will be able to transport between 20,000 and 30,000 people per hour via Tesla vehicles. The company also says the project will remain privately funded, and that its leaders hope to construct stations throughout the city and expand the system in coming years. Despite protests from Nashvillians, safety and environmental concerns raised by the Metro Council, and reports of construction crews walking off the loop construction site in November, the project is moving forward at a rapid pace — thanks to support from state leaders. During a livestream late last year on social media platform X (also owned by Musk), The Boring Company president Steve Davis called the tunnels “amazingly safe.” “It is by far the safest public transport system out there,” he said.
In this week’s three-part Scene cover package, we explore The Boring Company’s track record, talk to a geoscientist about the Music City Loop’s environmental impact, and dig into the politics surrounding the whole thing.
State vs. Metro power struggle persists as state and local leaders fight for control over tunnel project
A warning from a Las Vegas Loop critic: ‘Don’t take the bait’
Professor Mark Abolins talks about Nashville’s challenging bedrock
The Boring Company’s Music City Loop worksite; photo by Steve Cross
