LA Loop set to open as Tesla’s ‘Dog Mode’ goes into effect

Elon Musk drops an update on a tunnel in LA. Meanwhile, Tesla’s new ‘Dog Mode’ plans to help fido on drives.

Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday that his aspiring underground transportation project will open its first test tunnel in December, in Hawthorne, Calif.

Musk said on Twitter that the Boring Co. will hold an opening event to showcase the test tunnel on the night of Dec. 10. The company will then offer free rides to the public the next day, he said, allowing passengers to travel as fast as 155 mph. The Hawthorne-based test tunnel begins at a SpaceX parking lot and continues underground for up to 2 miles, the Boring Co. said.

While the trial tunnel injects a dose of realism to his vision of a hyperfast underground system, key questions remain. It’s unclear how Musk will achieve the top speeds of 760 miles per hour he has touted for a hyperloop tunnel, and the mode of transport that will be used there.

Musk’s goal in designing an underground tunnel system is to “solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic,” the Boring Co. says on its website. By lowering the cost of building tunnels and providing a transit alternative to driving, the company would help alleviate city congestion and offer high-speed transportation options across the country. One of the proposed routes would take passengers from the District of Columbia to New York in under 30 minutes.

In addition to the testing tunnel and the East Coast route, the company is also working on other projects including a Dugout Loop in Los Angeles to transport baseball fans directly to Dodger Stadium, and an express service from O’Hare International Airport to downtown Chicago.

While Musk is known for his towering ambition and zealous breakthroughs, the tech billionaire also has a reputation for over promising on meeting benchmarks. Dubbed “Elon time” critics of Musk have pointed to his history of missing deadlines or setting unrealistic timelines, most notably with the slow production of Tesla’s mass market Model 3.

“Dec 10 in real time or Elon time?” one Twitter user asked Musk about the test tunnel unveiling. “I think real,” Musk replied.