Chicago selects Boring Co to connect downtown, airport

The proposal centers around an underground passage from the Loop to O\'Hare in just 12 minutes at an estimated cost of up to $25 per ride.

Elon Musk's Boring Co has been selected to build an underground transportation system in Chicago, connecting the downtown Loop to O'Hare airport.

City Hall selected the startup over competing bids from three other players, paving the way for Boring Co to demonstrate its innovative tunneling technology.

Boring Co's proposal involves 16-passenger electric pods that ferry passengers at speeds of up to 100 mph, enabling riders to travel between the city's central business district and the airport in 12 minutes for an estimated price of $20-25 per ticket.

We're really excited to work with the Mayor and the City to bring this new high-speed public transportation system to Chicago! https://t.co/cL1e0YfZSw

— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) June 14, 2018

Boring Co will fund the project itself, with an estimated cost of less than $1 billion, according to a Chicago Tribune source.

"The risk -- with no financial risk -- is I'm betting on a guy who has proven in space, auto and now a tunnel, that he can innovate and create something of the future," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a recent interview. "Given his track record, we are taking his reputation and saying, 'This is a guy in two other transportation modes who has not failed.'"