No Boring Co Tesla Tunnels in Nashville
Ways to Take Action:
1. Community Meeting: Monday, March 2nd at 6:30pm / First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill - 625 Rosa L Parks Blvd, Nashville, TN 37203
2. Metro Resolution: Council Member At-Large Delishia Porterfield has a Resolution to oppose the Boring Co in Nashville up for vote in Metro Council on Tuesday, March 3rd. Email and call your Council Member here to urge their support.
3. State Legislation: State Senator Charlane Oliver has a Bill opposing the Boring Co up for vote in the State Legilature on Wednesday, March 4. Email and call your State Representative here to urge their support. State Senate bill SB2205 to establish a new statewide Authority, overruling any city, is up for a vote March 4th as well. This bill would allow Federal Grants to go to Tesla Tunnels, when they should be paying for real transit system infrastructure. Tell the legislature what you think about it!
4. Share this information! Bring a friend or two with you to these meetings. We have to get the word out.
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Transit Now’s Statement on the Boring Co in Nashville:
Update:
TN State Senate Legislation is set to establish a new Authority for jurisdiction over all subterranean transit systems using electric and autonomous cars [ie: Tesla Tunnels] statewide. Part of this authority would allow for Federal Grants to be made available to the Boring Co’s Tesla Tunnels. "Accept and distribute federal grants and other non-state fund[s]." [PG 3] - this is taxpayer money. This is one of the biggest threats to real transit and infrastructure. They could get federal grants (and bonds issued?) that would otherwise pay for real systems.
Original Statement:
As advocates for community based solutions to transportation challenges in our city, Transit Now Nashville opposes The Boring Company’s proposed tunnel system for Tesla vehicles between Downtown Nashville and the Nashville International Airport. Our concerns are rooted in the lack of public input, transparency, and accountability surrounding this project’s development. Nashville’s future shouldn’t be shaped behind closed doors especially when it involves public land, infrastructure, and public risks to make private profits.
Major infrastructure projects must begin with a robust, inclusive public process. If TDOT, the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, and other interests want to reshape our city’s transportation system, they must engage the people they claim to serve.
Before any tunnel project moves forward, a full alternatives analysis is essential to determine what best meets our region’s long-term needs. Handing out no bid contracts in private meetings does not inspire trust. The Nashville Airport already spent a fortune building a massive rail-ready station and plaza on the roof of a parking garage. Is that public expense being abandoned?
An Environmental Assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is non-negotiable, given the geological and hydrological sensitivities of the tunnel route—Tennessee’s porous limestone, the fluctuating water table, proximity to the Cumberland River, and our region’s vulnerability to flooding. Who will be financially responsible for cost overruns, construction delays, or environmental damage?
We reject the notion that this tunnel is cost effective. Every dollar and every acre devoted to this experiment is a dollar and acre not invested in more accessible, proven, and trusted transportation options. Just eight months ago, Nashville voters overwhelmingly approved investments to upgrade our surface transportation system, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and 54 miles of All Access Corridors. The Murfreesboro Pike BRT will provide a clear, community-supported connection between downtown and the airport. These upgrades are adaptable, unlike tunnels, and allow for improving our streetscapes with sidewalks, shade trees, and stormwater management. Enhancing and accelerating that work should be our focus.
The Boring Company’s track record shows a system that moves only three passengers per Tesla, which is hardly a scalable public solution. These tunnels are too small to fit safety-tested multi-passenger vehicles, which voids the claims at cost-saving. Nashville should not be the testing grounds for speculative private ventures designed to enrich a billionaire with no obligation to the public.
We support innovation. We support partnerships that serve the public good. But this proposal, as it stands, does neither. We urge Metro leaders to reject it and instead advance transportation solutions that reflect the values and priorities of all Nashvillians and not just a select few.