Elon Musk’s The Boring Co. submits proposal on SAT-to-downtown mobility project

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A company owned by Elon Musk reportedly submitted a proposal to the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority for a project to transport San Antonio International Airport passengers to downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio Express-News reports that The Boring Company is one of five companies to bid on the project, proposing to building an underground loop that would see SAT passengers travel to downtown thanks to a fleet of Tesla vehicles.

The Boring Co. is an infrastructure and tunnel construction service founded by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk in 2016.

The Alamo RMA declined to publicly release the submitted proposals, but the Express-News says two sources confirmed The Boring Co.’s proposal in October.

Another one of the bidders, Praetor Capital, shared plans with the newspaper of their proposal that would employ autonomous, electric vehicles running on guide rails — above and below ground. The Utah-based company reportedly submitted multiple possible routes for travel from the airport to downtown.

According to the Praetor Capital plan, passengers would travel in the autonomous vehicles that seat up to eight people at speeds of up to 45 mph. The trip would reportedly last between 12.7 and 15.4 minutes and cost between $6.50 to $7.30 per ride. The vehicles would drop passengers off at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

The Express News reports that the Alamo RMA opened the bidding period two months ago after Musk’s company submitted an unsolicited proposal. The submission deadline for the proposals was Dec. 1.

According to Bexar County spokeswoman Monica Ramos, the RMA is currently reviewing proposals and are scheduled to start interviews on January 17 through 21 with plans to select the finalist by February 22.

The Alamo RMA is an independent government organization created in 2003 by the Texas Transportation Commission and the Bexar County Commissioners Court with the goal of accelerating necessary transportation projects. The county commissioners appoint six of the members of the board of directors, with a seventh seat appointed by Governor Greg Abbott.

The Boring Co. opened a transportation loop beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center in June that includes three stations on 1.7 miles of tunnels and has the capacity to move more than 4,000 people per hour. The project reportedly cost $52.5 million for taxpayers.