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Elon Musk is talking to Rahm Emanuel about digging a tunnel under Chicago

Key Points
  • The Chicago mayor talked to Elon Musk about building high-speed rail lines.
  • Musk's Boring Company aims to reduce the high cost of tunneling.
  • Talks are preliminary, and mayor is evaluating different options.
Elon Musk
Tim Rue | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Elon Musk is talking to Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel about the possibility of digging a tunnel from the city's downtown area to Chicago O'Hare airport, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Emanuel has called the discussions "preliminary," according to the Tribune. The mayor is exploring various options for developing a high speed rail line in Chicago, an idea Emanuel's predecessor, Richard M. Daley had talked about from time to time.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO recently founded the jocularly titled "Boring Company" to begin developing machines and techniques for digging tunnels. Musk's main vision for the project so far has been a plan to dig a vast, layered network of underground roads that could reduce traffic in populous cities, such as Los Angeles.

Musk has said he thinks that he can reduce the currently high costs of tunneling, in part by making digging machines that can run continuously, and at a faster pace than they currently do, and by reducing the diameter of the tunnels.

Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.

WATCH: Elon Musk's new underground tunnel project will transport cars at 125 mph

Elon Musk's new underground tunnel project will transport cars at 125 mph
VIDEO1:1301:13
Elon Musk's new underground tunnel project will transport cars at 125 mph