Remember Elon Musk’s Hyperloop high-speed transportation system for both passengers and freight proposed in 2013 and described as a “fifth mode of transport” by the tech billionaire?
Well, it’s still not here, but Musk’s The Boring Company is apparently working on a precursor to the 600-mph Hyperloop. Elon Musk said in a post on X.com, the social media network he owns, that the high-speed tunnel is located in Texas and it could carry passengers between Austin and San Antonio in less than 30 minutes, with the tunnel providing more predictable travel times.
From Austin to San Antonio in Less Than 30 Minutes
Boring Company is working on a simple, precursor Hyperloop tunnel between Austin and San Antonio (>200 mph).
Due to traffic congestion, that journey can currently take up to 2.5 hours. @BoringCompany can reduce that to a consistent <30 mins.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 20, 2026
Musk said vehicles traveling through the tunnel would exceed 200 miles per hour, which means they would complete the journey approximately half an hour. Currently, the same 80-mile trip takes as much as 2.5 hours by car due to traffic congestion, Musk noted.
The short post left Musk’s followers with more questions than answers. For starters, the post did not disclose the proposed route, construction cost, financing structure or expected completion date, as Seeking Alpha pointed out.
Then there’s the question of what type of vehicles The Boring Company plans to use for the alleged 30-minute trip. Musk did not say whether the Texas loop would use conventional Tesla electric vehicles like the Vegas Loop, specialized passenger pods or the low-pressure tubes originally planned for Hyperloop travel.
Since the vehicles would travel at over 200 mph, it’s hard to think they could be regular Tesla EVs. The company’s fastest car was the Model S Plaid, which could reach 200 mph with the optional Track Package upgrade.
But the problem is Tesla no longer makes the Model S at all—and even if it still did, it’s hard to imagine a situation where a Tesla Model S Plaid would be driven at 200 mph in a tunnel considering the safety risks and the fact the EV could not cover more than 40 miles at that speed before its battery fully discharged. As a result, custom-engineered transit vehicles would make a more logical choice.
No Details or Evidence That Work Has Started on the Project
Hyperloop
Now, it’s worth pointing out that a route between Austin and San Antonio would be significantly longer that The Boring Company’s existing system in Las Vegas. Known as a the LVCC Loop, it has a route length of only 1.7 miles spanning about 2.2 total miles of tunnel infrastructure.
Needless to say, the planned Texas loop would likely require extensive regulatory approvals, safety testing and agreements governing land access. Musk did not say if the project has any government partners or whether preliminary construction had begun, which likely means the announcement is an early proposal rather than a financed infrastructure.
Still, if the project starts materializing, it would be The Boring Company’s most ambitious one yet, enabling it to demonstrate its ability to extend its technology beyond relatively short urban loops.
