The Boring Company unveiled its first tunnel, a 1.14-mile route, on Tuesday night. The tunnel runs 20 to 40 feet beneath the streets of Hawthorne, Calif., between the 105 Freeway and Hawthorne Municipal Airport. (Los Angeles Times)

Talking point: It took about 18 months and around US$10 million—not including research, development or equipment costs—to build the tunnel. CEO Elon Musk said the tunnel still cost significantly less to build than a typical subway; the Boring Company’s goal involves creating a tunnelling process 15 times faster than the “next best option.” It took about two minutes to drive through the tunnel; the car—which was manually driven, rather than an autonomous vehicle as promised—rolled bumpily on two molded, uneven concrete shelves along the tunnel walls. Musk said the issues were due to running out of time. “This is just a prototype. That’s why it’s just a little rough around the edges,” he said.