Elon Musk Reportedly In Talks With Tennessee Officials To Build A Transit Tunnel From The BNA Airport To Downtown Nashville

Is a Tesla transit tunnel system 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.

That’s why the rumor of a tunnel connecting Nashville’s airport with the downtown area is so intriguing. A number of cities like Chicago, New York, Denver, Boston, and Philly, just to name a few, have pretty convenient public transit systems that can take you from the airport to the city center. 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.

According to the Nashville Business Journal, discussions about the tunnel have been ongoing amongst Tennessee officials and Elon Musk for months, and there’s apparently some real interest in constructing an underground roadway that would be five to ten miles long running between BNA and Nashville’s downtown area. The proposed tunnel would be a lot longer than Boring Company’s 1.7 mile loop in Las Vegas, but it would be achievable – for the right price.

When the Nashville Airport was asked if there was any truth to the conversations about a Tesla tunnel, 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.”

So they are saying in theory the tunnel could happen?

The above statement lacks confirmation, which does make it seem as though this rumor might just that – a rumor. That being said, the Nashville Business Journal did put out a report that Musk was having talks about the project with officials from the state of Tennessee.

And just the possibility of those conversations potentially happening has already prompted a petition against the underground Tesla tunnel on Change.org to gain steam. Signatures are already stacking up on the petition that reads:

“The petition highlights concerns that Tennessee officials are negotiating with Musk’s Boring Company behind closed doors, without community input or accountability. Similar Musk-led tunnel projects in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles have either failed or drawn criticism for being costly, underwhelming, and inaccessible.”

Probably the most interesting part of this story is what the petition points out: If a conversation is happening about the tunnel system, it’s happening behind closed doors.

Nashville Metro Council-member Russ Bradford, who represents Donelson, basically confirmed to FOX-17 that when it comes to the theoretical underground Nashville loop… not many are being kept in the loop about it:

“I have not been in contact with anyone. I learned of this proposed tunnel via the media like everyone else. I would assume there would have to be some coordination with Metro for such a project.

And I also feel that taxpayers would not be keen on paying for a tunnel from BNA to downtown – especially after they overwhelmingly voted down a smaller tunnel under downtown. The cost would probably be in the billions of dollars.”

I can’t ever help but read the word “billions” like Dr. Evil from Austin Powers.

And the only real evil thing about this proposed tunnel 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. I’d even propose an additional tunnel that just runs in the downtown area… so all of the pedal taverns and party buses have a secluded place to drive around.

Of course, just the sheer mention of Elon’s name send some people into an unhinged frenzy. Like the hyper woke Aftyn Behn:

Who knows how all of this tunnel talk will shake out. 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.

And 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… if it ever happened:

The post Elon Musk Reportedly In Talks With Tennessee Officials To Build A Transit Tunnel From The BNA Airport To Downtown Nashville first appeared on Whiskey Riff.