Elon Musk didn’t file a permit. He didn’t brief county judges. He replied to an AI-generated video of human colonies on other worlds, then posted that The Boring Company is working on a “simple, precursor Hyperloop tunnel” between Austin and San Antonio that would exceed 200 mph. The drive, he wrote, can take up to 2.5 hours in traffic. The tunnel, he said, would cut that to a consistent trip of less than 30 minutes.
That was Sept. 20. The company’s own account answered within the hour. It would be “excited and honored” to build the project. Because Loop and Hyperloop run express, with no intermediate stops, a rider could go from an Austin parking lot to a San Antonio restaurant in about 30 minutes — if both spots had stations. The two cities sit roughly 80 miles apart on Interstate 35. At a sustained 200 mph, the arithmetic holds. Cover that distance at that speed and you need about 24 minutes before you slow down.
That’s the pitch. Here’s what isn’t in it…