"Lonsdale suggested starting small: He and some of his friends would pay for a one-mile, approximately $6 million to $7 million underground tunnel system, built by Elon Musk's the Boring Company, that would connect his friends' land around town. He said that the initial mile-long tunnel could spark interest from leadership for a citywide tunnel system that the Boring Company could ultimately build in partnership with the city, and a pitch deck he sent after the call refers to "a growing group of successful citizens" willing to donate or sell land at below-market prices for stations near the airport, Tesla's Austin gigafactory, the Q2 Stadium, Lonsdale's house, and his venture capital firm, 8VC."
""i [sic] want to learn what it takes to permit a tunnel to get going that my friends and I help sponsor between various land we own here, just to show it off and inspire our leaders and others how fast and affordable this can be," Lonsdale wrote in an email to then-Mayor Steve Adler Sept. 19, 2021. (The email, as well as a pitch deck put together by him and other people at Lonsdale's venture capital firm, 8VC, was obtained by Fortune as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.)"
"Lonsdale said there would be "two sites" for the stations above ground that would be about a tenth of an acre each and then, "very deep underground," a "small tunnel" that "would not interfere with anything or be heard when being built.""
A venture capitalist in Austin contacted the city’s then-mayor with a proposal to transform infrastructure through an underground tunnel system. He suggested starting with a one-mile tunnel costing about $6 million to $7 million, funded by him and friends, built by Elon Musk’s Boring Company. The tunnel would connect land owned by his group and include above-ground station sites, with a deep underground segment designed to avoid interference and noise during construction. The plan aimed to show leaders how quickly and affordably tunneling could be permitted and built, potentially leading to a broader citywide tunnel system. A pitch deck referenced a group of successful citizens willing to donate or sell land below market prices for stations near key locations including the airport, Tesla’s gigafactory, and local landmarks tied to his network.
#underground-tunneling #austin-infrastructure #boring-company #public-private-partnerships #venture-capital
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