Elon Musk’s Tunneling Company Hits Roadblock on Texas Plans

(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk's Boring Co. has hit a snag in an attempt to construct an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility just east of Austin, Texas.

Bastrop County commissioners on Monday tabled the company's application for a conditional use permit for the project, meaning that the massive facility is on hold for now, even as other Boring work progresses nearby. The company already has a development permit to conduct tunneling research on the site, and recently applied to add a warehouse and manufacturing with parking for 200 vehicles. Boring has also applied with the county for a water hookup and waste water system, according to a representative for the county.

Boring has increasingly focused its efforts on Texas, after meeting resistance from local officials in Southern California and other densely populated areas. But the delayed approval in Bastrop County indicates that the company will need to work to assuage local concern even in Texas.

Boring already has some people living on-site in Texas, according to one of the nearby homeowners who attended the meeting. But having people reside on the site before obtaining sewage permit approval may be a violation of the permitting process, County Judge Paul Pape, who was presiding over the meeting Monday, said during the proceedings.

Texas law typically requires a state-level review by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for sewage facilities. A TCEQ spokeswoman said a review of its registry database returned no records for either Boring or for Gapped Bass LLC, the entity that purchased the property on its behalf.

No Boring representatives spoke at the meeting, and the company did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Boring purchased the land in May 2021 and is building test tunnels to hone its techniques. The site already features a large tent, several small residences and a sports court.

People who live in the area are still trying to learn more about what, exactly, Boring has planned for the land it owns in Bastrop County. “We're trying to protect what is here,” neighboring resident Maura Ambrose said during the meeting, “the rich soil, the pastoral views.”

Boring officials have met with officials in Austin and expressed interest in connecting Tesla Inc.'s new Gigafactory there to other sites in the area, such as the airport, city development officials said last year.

Musk has said that cities can use Boring's tunnels as an alternative to public transportation and as a way to alleviate traffic. So far the still-small company has a few tunnels operating in Las Vegas, connecting the different ends of the Las Vegas convention center and a hotel. Plans are underway to extend those to a network that would run under the Las Vegas Strip and possibly to the airport.