NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Diya TV) — Elon Musk’s tunneling venture, The Boring Company, plans to build a 10-mile underground transit loop in Nashville, partnering with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. The project, known as the Music City Loop, aims to connect downtown Nashville and the Convention Center with the Nashville International Airport. The company says travel time through the tunnel will be just eight minutes.
The announcement sparked excitement from state Republican leaders but drew sharp criticism from local Democratic lawmakers. Concerns about transparency, environmental impact, and lack of local input have surfaced ahead of a key public hearing. Gov. Lee and other top state officials praised the project in a press release earlier this week. The proposed loop would run under state-owned roadways and be privately funded. State leaders describe the deal as “no cost to taxpayers” and beneficial to economic growth.
However, no details have been released on cost-benefit analyses, safety reviews, or environmental impact assessments. A state commission made up of the governor, House speaker, Senate speaker, and secretary of state is set to vote Thursday on a no-cost lease of public land to The Boring Co. The land, about the size of a football field, is located in downtown Nashville.
Members of the public were invited to comment at Thursday’s hearing, but they were given less than a week’s notice. Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell released a statement saying city officials have many questions about the impact on local operations and residents.
“We are aware of the state’s conversations with the Boring Company, and we have several operational questions to understand the potential impacts on Metro and Nashvillians,” he said.
State Rep. Justin Jones, a Democrat representing Nashville, said the process has excluded local voices. He claims his district was not consulted, and no environmental or health assessments were shared. Jones attempted to attend two recent Boring Co. events, including a recruiting event at the downtown parking lot expected to be leased to the company. He says company representatives barred him from entering.
“They told me I’m not allowed to be here,” Jones said in a text to CNBC, attaching a video of the incident. He also said officials told him only state-level approval is needed because the tunnels will run under state roads.
“We’re not even being informed where or what exactly these tunnels are going to run through,” Jones said. “Giving away land has a cost.”
Nashville’s frequent flooding has raised red flags about the tunnel project. The city averages around 50 inches of rain per year, much more than the 4 inches Las Vegas receives. Critics point out that The Boring Co. has no experience tunneling in flood-prone regions. In the past, Nashville’s Metro Water Services worked with federal agencies to buy out residents in flood-prone areas and turn the land into green space. The goal was to reduce flood risk, not increase it.
The Boring Company’s most notable project to date is the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop. That tunnel cost Nevada taxpayers about $50 million. Critics say it lacks basic infrastructure like pedestrian walkways and does not function like a traditional subway.
Nevada also fined The Boring Co. for repeated workplace safety violations and worker injuries.
The company had planned tunnels in other cities, such as Chicago, but later canceled those projects. Musk is expanding his presence in Tennessee beyond The Boring Company. His artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is building data centers and a power plant in Memphis. The facilities will help train xAI’s chatbot Grok.
But that project has also drawn criticism. Community leaders and environmental groups say xAI’s use of natural gas turbines is harming air quality in majority-Black neighborhoods. The NAACP and other groups are suing xAI, claiming the company violated the Clean Air Act.
An xAI spokesperson said the company “takes our commitment to the community and environment seriously.” The public hearing for the Music City Loop project will be held Thursday morning at the Cordell Hull State Office Building in Nashville. The state commission will decide whether to grant The Boring Co. a no-cost lease for the downtown land.
