Elon Musk is drilling his way into new terrain as his construction company sets its sights on another southern community.

Musk founded The Boring Co. back in 2017 as an infrastructure company centered around tunnel construction and a self-described mission to "solve traffic, enable rapid point-to-point transportation and transform cities," according to the company's website. In the years since, the company has constructed a burgeoning tunnel network beneath Las Vegas, as well as built a system beneath Tesla's Giga Texas facility in Austin, just 30 miles west of The Boring Co.'s Central Texas headquarters in Bastrop.

Now, the world's richest man is reportedly in talks with Tennessee state officials about constructing a tunnel system within Nashville, according to reports from the Nashville Business Journal. Government officials are looking into a possible underground tunnel linking downtown with the Nashville International Airport as a way to improve transit conditions in the city and accommodate growing tourism numbers, the Nashville Business Journal added.

Specifics as to the tunnel's route or cost are unknown as of Wednesday, June 11, the report noted. The potential project could mirror that of Las Vegas' dual-tunnel system beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center, which encompasses a 0.8-mile loop that includes single-lane, 12-foot-wide tunnels. That Las Vegas endeavor came with an estimated $50 million price tag courtesy funding from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the Nashville Business Journal reported.

It's not the first tunnel concept hashed out by Nashville leaders. Former Mayor Megan Barry floated a conceptual 1.8-mile tunnel beneath downtown Nashville back in 2017 and 2018, which had a projected $900 million cost to accommodate the 60-foot-wide tunnel. That referendum ultimately failed at the polls shortly after she resigned from her mayoral role.

Is Musk fleecing southern states with these types of ambitious projects? I wonder why the San Antonio project hasn’t taken off. I am definitely interested to ride one of these in Vegas to see how the experience is. But solving traffic with tunnels sounds logical but is it economical. 8 years in and not much to show from this company. Maybe it will be a force in 2040?