Learning nothing for Boaty McBoatface, Tesla chief sought help naming a tunnelling machine and the public replied in kind

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Elon Musk needs a name for his new digging machine – so he asked the internet. And we all know how much the internet likes naming things.

The Tesla CEO has a new venture called the Boring Company, which, rather than being a company about uninteresting things, is a tunnelling company aiming to help Los Angeles traffic by digging tunnels underneath the city.

Last week a tunnelling machine was spotted:

Probably aware of the boring puns inevitable with a name like the Boring Company, Musk asked Twitter what he should name his new toy:

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) Maybe Ultimate Boring Machine, the Second

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) @reviewero By calling it "the Second", it has more credibility

And the suggestions started rolling in:

Dana Hull (@danahull) @elonmusk William Burroughs

Niv Dror (@Nivo0o0) @elonmusk Call it Digg

Scott Johnson (@scottjohnson) @elonmusk The Elongater

Obviously no internet naming competition would be complete without:

WIRED Germany (@WIRED_Germany) @elonmusk Bory McBoreface

Owen ⚡️ (@ow) @elonmusk Borey mcBoreface

Don’t expect a variation on this theme to win, though:

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) @hunterbarnes144 Been done

But most importantly, it was a chance for Twitter to nerd out a bit:

Paul Bailey (@paulmarkbailey) @elonmusk How about 'moley moley moley'? pic.twitter.com/iF3vde9i1K

Prestige Clips 👑 (@PrestigeClips) @elonmusk David Attenburrow

Musk certainly dug himself a hole with that one.