2 minNashville's Music City Loop: two machines digging, a third about to start, first segment due late 2026
The Boring Company's Nashville tunnel is speeding up. Where the Loop should go, how far along it is, and how it links to Tesla.
After Las Vegas, Nashville is The Boring Company's most important project in the United States. The Music City Loop is meant to connect the city's airport with downtown and dozens of other locations through tunnels in which Tesla vehicles carry passengers. In October 2026, the project is picking up pace.
Where things stand
- Machines: two Prufrock tunnel boring machines, known as MB1 and MB2, are digging at the same time.
- Next: a third machine, MB3, was due to launch in late October, and a fourth is being built for a start before the end of the year.
- Improvements: the company says it has made more than 300 design and performance changes to the original Nashville machine.
- Timeline: construction began after Tennessee and federal regulators approved a lease in February 2026. The first operational segment is targeted for late 2026.
Where the Loop should go
The Boring Company says it is working with property owners on more than 40 planned stations. Approved so far are a connection to Nashville International Airport, a downtown station near the Music City Center convention centre, and stops at residential towers and the JW Marriott hotel.
Why Nashville is a test
Nashville's ground is largely limestone, much harder than the soil under Las Vegas. That is why the company built a hard-rock version of its machine, Prufrock-MB. If tunnelling through rock proves fast and affordable, many more cities become possible locations. If not, the Loop concept stays limited to places with easier ground.
The Tesla link
Loop systems use Tesla vehicles to carry passengers, as in Las Vegas, where drivers currently still sit behind the wheel. A growing Loop network is therefore a small but direct customer for Tesla cars. The underground work trucks also run on Tesla batteries and motors.
What to watch
Whether MB3 starts on time, whether the first segment opens before the end of 2026, and what the company says about vehicles: drivers, or Tesla's self-driving software in the tunnels.
