Is the Tesla Cybertruck Towing the Boring Company's Huge Tunnel Boring Machine?

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Photo: The Boring Company | X

This is definitely a sight to behold. The Tesla Cybertruck leads the way for The Boring Company's Prufrock-3 tunnel boring machine, which has recently completed a tunnel leading to Giga Texas. Even though one of the photos shows the huge machinery looking as if it is towed by the electric pickup truck, we will have to disappoint you. It is not! 

Right after the tunnel was completed, The Boring Company decided to transport the massive machinery to its next digging site. The firm shared photos of the transport on X, showing that the Prufrock-3 was escorted by the Tesla Cybertruck. The Prufrock-3 started operating at the Giga Texas back in early April and re-emerged inside the new south extension of the facility last week.

The X account revealed that the Prufrock-3 was captured by The Monster after it completed the digging through the Giga Texas site. The Monster allows Prufrock-3 to launch directly into the ground, be easily transported to the next tunnel. From the moment it arrives, it can be launched into the ground in less than 24 hours.

The Prufrock is designed to dig a tunnel at a speed of over one mile per week. The startup was previously expecting it to exceed 1/10 of a human's walking step, which would be around seven miles per day. However, the machine can't keep up with the super-ambitious goal.

The fasted tunnel boring machines currently in the market can go as fast as digging several hundred meters per month. One of the world's fastest TMB managed to have a best day of 106.2 feet (32.4 meters), a best week of 584 feet (178.2 meters), and a best month of 2,368 feet (721.8 meters) in 2021, as reported by Tunnels & Tunneling.

The Boring Company claims that the Prufrock-3 is designed to construct mega-infrastructure projects in a matter of weeks instead of years. The new TBM is six times faster than the previous generation TBM. According to The Boring Company, this is still 4-5 times slower than a garden snail. But Prufrock is trying to catch up.

The behemoth is capable of porpoising, which means that it can launch directly from the surface, to mine underground, and re-emerge upon completion with no need to excavate pits for its launch or retrieving operations.

However, "slow" is not something that would be associated with the speed of its escort. The Tesla Cybertruck, in its range-topping Cyberbeast shape, comes with supercar credentials. Its tri-motor powertrain pumps out 845 horsepower (857 metric horsepower). That is enough for a run from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 kph), with rollout extracted, in just 2.6 seconds. The needle of the speedometer goes as far as 130 mph (209 kph).

But despite its 11,000-pound (4,989-kilogram) towing capacity, it would still not be able to tow the giant Prufrock-3.

On the road again @Tesla pic.twitter.com/Kzn0PYl49U

— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) June 12, 2024

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