We got internal emails, texts and memos that show Boring wants to charge $760M to build one piece of Houston's flood mitigation tunnel system — with 15% of up front out of the state and county budgets. And Musk had a pitch man: Congressman Wesley Hunt. www.kut.org/politics/202... #txlege
Hunt and Boring pitched smaller, potentially narrower tunnels than the county had previously focused on for the project. Instead of one, 30-40 ft tunnels, Boring wanted to build two 12-foot tunnels. At least one flood experts questioned whether that plan would work. www.kut.org/politics/202...
All of these pitches happened behind the scenes. There have not been any public hearings about Boring and Musk getting the job — or the taxpayer money. All of this comes as The Boring Company is facing transparency criticism for his Nashville tunnel project. wpln.org/post/tenness... #txlege
Hunt and reps for Musk and his companies did not answer our questions. State and local officials insisted they have NOT allocated any public money to Borinng. If it does get the job, it appears it would be the first water project for the company. Read the story here www.kut.org/politics/202...
This story was co-published with these outlets as part of an initiative to report on how power is wielded in Texas. @propublica: www.propublica.org/article/elon... @HoustonChron: www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investi... @TexasTribune: www.texastribune.org/2025/08/28/e...
www.propublica.org/article/elon... Maybe Houston should wait and see whether the Vegas thing works out or if it "craters."
As an Engineer that deals with this stuff, I absolutely support the Flood Control District Proposal. Musk's proposal is going to hit utilities, may not be fully gravity fed, and definitely will not have the capacity required. Storm can drop a huge amount of water in a relatively short time period.
100% agree. Why do people think Musk is an engineering genius? He’s a businessman who convinces politicians to use his companies’ services, but there’s often aspects that are not well thought through, such as pipe depth, diameter, etc. Boring isn’t capable to address comprehensive needs.
Hey @neorsd.org this and the rest of Lauren's thread is right up your alley, or rather underground tunnel.
Good question for a high school math and physics class with crossover to US gov class. How much more water can flow per second in a 40 ft diam tunnel vs two 12 ft tunnels? Then ask why Boring Co. tries to their one size tunnel for various infrastructure projects? Elon Musk is not an engineer, kids.