The Boring Company is edging closer to the unveiling of its very first tunnel, albeit a little behind schedule. The tunnel construction outfit announced today that it has pushed back the official opening event one week to December 18.
Back in October, CEO of The Boring Company Elon Musk declared the first demonstration tunnel would open December 10, with free rides for the public to kick off the following day.
"Tunnel opening now set for 12/18," the company tweeted today. "Need another few days to finish the snail habitat. More details soon!"
This appears to be a reference to the company's pet snail Gary, which it is using as a yardstick of sorts to measure its progress. When the company first outlined its plans to revolutionize tunneling technology, it pointed out that snails move 14 times faster than current boring machines. It hopes to eventually close the difference.
Though the opening has been pushed back, we do know that tunnel currently has a beginning and an end point. The company began sharing images of its boring machine, named Godot, breaking through the other side in mid-November. Musk has described the length of the tunnel as "disturbingly long."
The company has previously gained approval to build a prototype garage on a residential lot adjacent to the its test tunnel featuring one of its vehicle elevators. The idea is to create a proof-of-concept garage that would allow a resident to enter a tunnel network from the comfort of their own home.
It is unclear at this stage whether this garage will feature as part of the unveiling, but we're set to find out more in around two weeks, further delays non-withstanding. On Twitter today, Musk says the event will be "more than a tunnel opening," and that it will feature demonstrations of modified, street legal autonomous cars along with car elevators connecting the tunnel entrances to ground level.
Source: The Boring Company (Twitter)