Elon Musk quips Boring Company could dig new Transbay Tube for one-tenth the cost

Elon Musk tweeted story on Feb. 27, 2018, from the British Independent on how Chinese workers built a railway station in nine months. Elon Musk tweeted story on Feb. 27, 2018, from the British Independent on how Chinese workers built a railway station in nine months. Photo: Twitter Screen Grab Photo: Twitter Screen Grab Image 1 of / 53 Caption Close Elon Musk quips Boring Company could dig new Transbay Tube for one-tenth the cost 1 / 53 Back to Gallery

Elon Musk loves to stoke the fires.

Musk tweeted Tuesday that the Boring Company, his infrastructure and tunnel-construction company, could build a new BART tunnel beneath San Francisco Bay for one-tenth the cost and one-fifth the amount of time.

BART has been mulling over the idea of a second Transbay Tube, and the estimated cost has ranged from $12 billion to $15 billion, according to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle.

BART's existing tube will be at full capacity by 2030, and the goal would be to have a second tube in place by then.

Musk's Transbay Tube chatter on Twitter started when he posted a story from the British Independent on how Chinese workers built a railway station in nine hours.

The Silicon Valley business magnate, who's also CEO of Tesla and SpaceX wrote, "China's progress in advanced infrastructure is more than 100 times faster than the US."

The tweet is overloaded with over 1,500 comments, and one Twitter user who goes by Paul Rand asked Musk how much it would cost his company to build the tunnel.

Many cheered on Musk in the comments. "And cheaper for the customers :D just do it Elon, transportation here sucks, try to work between Palo Alto and Fremont during the weekend using public transportation, it takes the the same time to drive from SF to LA! outrageous!" wrote one.

But over on Reddit, where the Tweet was picked up, many were suspicious of Musk's proposition.

"Yeah, Elon Musk says a lot of ridiculous s--- to get investors hyped and keep the money flowing," shares one on Reddit. "At this point I don't believe even half of the things he says he's going to do."

Another chimes in: "Don't take Musk's word for it. Cities all around the world, including in places with high cost of living and strong unions such as France, can build rail much much cheaper than the US can. However, the Boring Company has not done any large scale tunneling projects yet and seems more preoccupied selling flamethrowers than building large infrastructure projects. Don't look to Musk for advice, simply look outside the US."