“I think we have a unique opportunity to create
a signature project, not just for Miami, but for
the world,” Suarez said in a video posted on his
Twitter account, pitching this as a transportation
solution for the area.
Musk estimated the project could cost about
$30 million and take about six months to
complete, Suarez said. The mayor said he will
talk to Gov. Ron DeSantis and Miami-Dade
County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava about
the project.
Musk has previously said he spoke with DeSantis
about the idea but did not share any specifics.
Musk, who co-founded and leads Tesla and
the private rocket company SpaceX, has been
wanting to build an express tunnel transit
system where autonomous electric vehicles
would whisk people around high traffic areas.
In December, the Las Vegas City Council
approved an underground system to shuttle
people in Tesla vehicles through miles of tunnels
connecting the Las Vegas Strip, downtown, the
stadium, the airport and other destinations.
The billionaire entrepreneur’s proposals to build
tunnels in other cities have faced criticism and
have been abandoned or not yet approved.
Some experts have questioned whether such
tunnels in South Florida could even be feasible
or cost-effective given the region’s high water
table and porous limestone rock.
As part of a campaign to attract more tech
investors to Miami, Suarez had originally
invited Musk to the city over Twitter after
the businessman posted about battery cell
production as a sustainable energy solution. But
Musk responded with the tunnel pitch.