The Boring Company secured a massive new funding round, a development that could pave the way for more tunnel-based transportation projects in cities.
The raise also comes with a sharply higher valuation for a company that still faces questions over whether its system eases congestion better than other mass-transit options.
Here's what to know
Electrek reported that Elon Musk's tunneling company announced Wednesday it had completed a $3 billion Series D round that valued the business at $23 billion.
That means the company is worth about four times the roughly $5.7 billion valuation it had in 2022. The round was led by the United Arab Emirates and affiliated investment entities, with Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Temasek, Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Human Capital, Shamal Holding, and Baron Capital also participating.
The new money is meant to support loop expansions; continued work on its Prufrock tunnel-boring machines; and new employees across engineering, operations, and production.
In the UAE, The Boring Company has agreed to construct more than 150 kilometers (93 miles) of tunnels.
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Separate from that plan, the Dubai Loop pilot calls for a 6.4-kilometer (4-mile) tunnel with four stations. Construction is expected to start late this year.
More background
Las Vegas is the only place where The Boring Company is moving passengers, Electrek noted. The company has said that precast work for the Dubai pilot is underway.
In Las Vegas, the Vegas Loop has carried more than four million riders. Clark County has signed off on 19 additional stations, bringing the planned network to 123, and the company says it has begun its 14th tunnel in the city and its 25th overall.
If the systems perform as promised, they could provide point-to-point travel and offer another transportation option in busy tourism and event corridors.
What's being done?
The company has entered hard-rock tunneling for the first time. In Nashville, the Music City Loop received state approval Feb. 25, and excavation started that same day.
Whether future loop systems are practical for cities may depend on how quickly and reliably Prufrock machines can dig in different types of ground. By August, two of those machines were tunneling in Nashville, while another was close to being assembled in Texas.
Electrek argued that The Boring Company has not shown, even in simulation, that its tunnels do a better job of reducing traffic than other mass-transit solutions.
"Without that, The Boring Company's only innovation is boring tunnels a bit cheaper, and even that is up for debate since most of the cost reduction is tied to tunnel size and, therefore, capacity," the outlet concluded.
Where can I learn more?
Other Musk-connected transportation ventures are moving along too. These developments offer a useful look at how the broader mobility business is shifting while questions about traffic benefits hang over the company.
• Tesla is letting charging-site owners make money by hosting self-driving demos that could draw visitors.
• Origence and Tesla teamed up to reduce electric car payments through credit-union financing.
• Tesla introduced a universal wall connector for home charging.
Infrastructure, financing, and consumer access are all feeding into transportation bets around Musk's companies. That helps explain why investors may be willing to back ambitious mobility projects, even with open questions about how some of them perform.
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