Elon Musk bought a boring machine but is it for LA or Mars?
Los Angeles has a traffic problem, Mars has a radiation problem... Elon Musk has a boring machine, but is it headed for LA or Mars, and is he throwing us a red herring...?
Key takeaways
- Crazier things have happened and Musk is a visionary after all.
- In February, Musk was looking at purchasing a used Herrenknecht boring machine, which is about 26 feet in diameter, about 400 feet long, and weighs 1,200 tons.
- The giant machine was in Washington at the time, and it’s not clear if it’s the same machine that has just arrived at SpaceX’s headquarters, but it is certainly similar in size.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2017) 'Elon Musk bought a boring machine but is it for LA or Mars?', 311 Institute, 1 May. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/elon-musk-bought-a-boring-machine-but-is-it-for-la-or-mars/ (Accessed: 8 October 2026).
After Elon Musk launched his latest company, Neuralink, whose sole purpose in life is to re-create the Neural Lace, a nanotech "injectable electronic device" that will hook us all into Artificial Intelligence (AI) we almost forgot that the CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, who's also got his sights on colonising Mars, also recently launched yet another startup - the Boring Company, to solve Los Angeles' traffic woes. Alledgedly.
Bearing in mind that the boring machine first appeared at SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and also bearing in mind that if you want to avoid radiation on the surface of a planet - like Mars - then tunnels are a great option you have to ask the question - is Musk's real goal here LA or Mars? Or both? Sure Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM's), as they're known are heavy, coming in at 1,200 tons and much much more, but the Falcon Heavy can lift 63,800kg per launch and maybe Musk thinks he can 3D print the rest of the TBM's parts on the surface of the planet. If you think that's far fetched then it might not be as far fetched as you think with companies like NASA and others looking to leverage 3D printing to print everything from equipment to habitats.
While there would be some tremendous technical hurdles, obviously, such as the hardness of the drill heads and so on they could, arguably be overcome - even the caterpillar like motion of the TBM itself could be mechanised as demonstrated in this NASA concept to turn an asteroid into a spacecraft...
Crazier things have happened and Musk is a visionary after all.
Anyway, back to the Boring Company, the company aims to make important advancements in the cost and speed of digging tunnels in order to solve transportation problems in cities, and they recently took delivery of its their first giant boring machine.
In February, Musk was looking at purchasing a used Herrenknecht boring machine, which is about 26 feet in diameter, about 400 feet long, and weighs 1,200 tons. The giant machine was in Washington at the time, and it’s not clear if it’s the same machine that has just arrived at SpaceX’s headquarters, but it is certainly similar in size.
The boring machine arrived late last week and is being positioned in SpaceX’s parking lot where they have already been digging a hole in the ground, however, as for the question when will they start digging holes under Los Angeles, well that's anyone's guess.
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Los Angeles has a traffic problem, Mars has a radiation problem... Elon Musk has a boring machine, but is it headed for LA or Mars, and is he throwing us a red herring...?
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 1 May 2017. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2017). Elon Musk bought a boring machine but is it for LA or Mars?. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/elon-musk-bought-a-boring-machine-but-is-it-for-la-or-mars/
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