It certainly sounds like a Tesla transit tunnel system could be coming to Music City.
Anyone that either lives in Nashville or has visited knows that the city’s traffic issue is horrendous. As the town has grown exponentially, the roadways have stayed the same… which is why Forbes named Nashville as the worst commuter city in America in 2023.
You run into standstill or slow moving traffic just as much as you do pedal taverns and party buses.
So when a rumor started spreading last month about a tunnel connecting Nashville’s airport with the downtown area, many were intrigued by the idea. A tunnel system in Nashville, albeit one that just connects downtown with BNA, could potentially be an unofficial counter to public transit systems in other bustling cities, like Chicago, New York, Denver, Boston, and Philly (just to name a few).
Could something like that be the answer to the city’s growing congestion problem? The idea of digging down below the ground to make a travel-able tunnel might seem far-fetched, but it’s exactly one of the things that Elon Musk’s Boring Company specializes in. And according to the Nashville Business Journal, discussions about the tunnel have been ongoing amongst Tennessee officials and Elon Musk for months.
If it were green lit, the Boring Company would be commissioned to construct an underground roadway that would be five to ten miles long running between BNA and Nashville’s downtown area. The proposed tunnel would much longer than the Boring Company’s 1.7 mile loop in Las Vegas, but it would be achievable – for the right price.
When the speculation first started in June, the Nashville Airport was asked if there was any truth to the conversations about a Tesla tunnel, and BNA responded with this statement:
“Since 2018, there have been multiple theoretical discussions regarding potential transit connections between downtown and the Nashville International Airport.
Since late 2024, there have been numerous rumored and/or hypothetical discussions regarding connecting Nashville International Airport to downtown via tunnel, just like the theoretical discussions regarding the possibility of colonizing Mars in the future.
The Airport Authority is not in possession of any feasibility studies, technical specifications, business terms, lease proposals, timelines, etc. We can confirm that the Boring Company has an operational tunnel system in the city of Las Vegas, as reported in the Nashville Business Journal.”
That’s not exactly a no.
And the Nashville Business Journal updated their report on the tunnel system last week, stating that the Boring Company is close to announcing plans for the new connection loop between BNA and downtown Nashville. Their reporting suggests that an official announcement from the Elon Musk’s Boring Company and, more importantly, the state of Tennessee, could come as soon as the end of July.
Though to be clear, an announcement doesn’t necessarily mean that the tunnel will quickly come to fruition. It would be more of a statement of intention… not action. For the loop to actually be green lit, the state and Metro leaders in Nashville would have to both be in support of it. Considering one of the biggest points of contention with this project thus far is that conversations about the tunnel system seem to be happening behind closed doors, it’s unclear how likely Metro leaders would be to support it (they most likely wouldn’t).
It’s also important to note that Elon Musk’s Boring Company has been linked to potential tunnel systems in other cities across the United States, like Chicago, San Antonio, and Charlotte. All of those are currently caught up in red tape, so the only Tesla tunnel system that actually exists is located in Las Vegas. Nashville could soon be added to that list of places… that still don’t have a tunnel.
At the end of the day, the tunnel doesn’t seem like a bad idea. The only truly “bad” thing about it would be the price tag that would likely be passed on to the taxpayers. Other than that, having an alternative way to get from BNA to the downtown area seems like a big win in the city’s fight against horrific traffic.
Seems like Nashvillians have been complaining about the city’s traffic for quite some time, but it would be hard to convince the population to foot the bill for a solution that would cost billions. Though if the Boring Company said there would be a second tunnel included in the proposal that’s solely for all the pedal taverns and party buses, Nashville residents might be more likely to entertain the idea.
If you’ve never seen the Las Vegas Tesla loop in action, here’s a good idea of what the Nashville loop would look like:
