Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is planning to bring his The Boring Company's services to China.
The SpaceX and Tesla founder revealed on Twitter that he will be launching a Chinese unit of his tunneling and transportation startup company sometime this month.
Musk revealed his company's plans in a response to a question posted on Twitter by a user regarding his planned visit to China this month. Musk is scheduled to speak at an AI conference in Shanghai called the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which will be held from August 29 to August 31.
In his response, Musk revealed that he will be launching a subsidiary called The Boring Company China during his visit to the country.
A flood of questions immediately followed Musk's statement on the social media platform. One user asked whether the Chinese unit would be digging tunnels underwater, to which Musk simply replied "yes." Musk's Boring Company has had a rough start in the United States, but following the acquisition of several major projects, the world has now taken notice.
The aptly named tunneling company was able to bag its first commercial contract just a few months ago in Las Vegas. The company was given the $48.7 million contract to build and operate an underground network of tunnels under the city to transport people to and from major convention centers.
The underground network in Las Vegas will include two major tunnels with fully-autonomous electric vehicles ferrying people to and from different locations.
While fully autonomous driving is yet to be commonplace in US roads, the underground tunnels will be the perfect controlled environment for Musk's Tesla vehicles.
Work on the tunnels is currently underway, but Musk's company will still need to undergo at least three months of safety testing before it becomes available for public use.
Apart from the Las Vegas contract, Musk's company had won a bid in June of last year to build a high-speed underground transportation system that would connect Chicago's O'Hare airport to the city's downtown area.
Prior to acquiring the Las Vegas contract, Musk's tunneling company had built a proof of concept in Hawthorne, California. The Boring Company built a 1.14mile-long tunnel from SpaceX's headquarters to a neighborhood about a mile away.
Last month, the company was able to accumulate over $120 million through the sale of its stocks to outside investors. This means that the firm does have the liquidity to set up an overseas subsidiary and China will likely be a worthwhile market for its unique services.
