Governor Bill Lee on Monday announced that the Boring Company, the tunnel construction company owned by Elon Musk, plans to connect the Nashville International Airport with downtown Nashville through the Music City Loop, which the governor said will come at zero cost to taxpayers.
“Nashville will be home to she Music City Loop,” the governor revealed during a Monday press conference. “The Boring Company is developing the most cutting edge transit system in the world, and they could have taken their next underground loop anywhere, but they saw something unique about Tennessee and we are really grateful that they did.”
Lee then confirmed that the Boring Company will foot the bill for the Music City Loop, making it 100 percent privately funded, with “no cost to Tennessee taxpayers.”
“I’ve made a lot of economic announcements,” said the governor, who is nearing the end of his second term. He added, “I’m an engineer, this might just be the coolest announcement that we’ve made since we’ve been here.”
Immediately ahead of Lee’s announcement, the company played a promotional video advertising the Music City Loop.
Announcing Music City Loop! The Boring Company is coming to the State of Tennessee.
Las Vegas Loop has already moved more than 3M passengers, and growing. Next stop, Nashville!
Thanks to the Tennessee Department of Transportation @myTDOT, Governor Bill Lee @GovBillLee, The… pic.twitter.com/6BMjFynnF1
— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) July 28, 2025
Boring Company President Steve Davis also spoke at the event, stressing the safety of his company’s product and its excitement to work with Tennesseans, whom Davis described as “so welcoming” and “so kind.”
“Loop is currently operating in Las Vegas, we’ve had more than 3 million passengers through it, and it’s a pretty great product in that you get to ride in a beautiful, comfortable car, and you go point-to-point,” said Davis, stressing the detail. “You could have five stations, ten stations, 30 stations, 50 stations, and a station by the way is just a nice-looking parking lot.”
When it came to choosing Tennessee, Davis said it fit both of the Boring Company’s requirements, which were for the system to be “useful” and built in a community that is “welcoming.”
“From a useful standpoint, Nashville is spectacular,” said Davis, who said he drove the route between the airport and downtown, and reported experiencing congestion.
“The welcoming case is also a home run,” added Davis.
Suggesting even some in the Metro Nashville Government could be on board, he added, “Nashville has been fantastic, [and] moved at an incredible speed. So welcoming, so kind, it wasn’t even a difficult decision once we started talking to the governor, and the whole team in the state and the city.
While Davis did not offer concrete details about when the project would be completed, the Boring Company executive said the company would host a job fair in Davidson County this week.
Lee and Davis also expressed gratitude to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who said he anticipated construction of the Music City Loop to conclude in two years.
He also relayed President Donald Trump’s analysis of the project.
“From President Trump’s perspective and my perspective, we are looking for innovators,” said Duffy. “We spend a lot of money on infrastructure, and often times we look around and say, where is it? Where are all the roads, and the bridges, and the high speed rail that you promised me?”
Duffy stated, “I think we have to do a better job on the deliverables, and I think this is a great way to cut through the red tape, to partner with private sector individuals and companies, and move projects really fast.
The secretary said he was persuaded to attend the event by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), who, due to pressing business in Washington, D.C., did not attend in person but instead recorded videos expressing their gratitude and excitement.
“It is so wonderful that the Boring Company has selected Nashville to do this project that is going to increase mobility and efficiency in transportation and will complete that loop from the Nashville airport to downtown,” said Blackburn.
She noted, “I find it so interesting, as we’ve looked at the project that has taken place in Las Vegas, that as that project was completed, and the Homeland Security department did their assessment, they got a near-perfect score on their safety and security assessment.”
Hagerty, first noting that his absence was caused by the Senate’s efforts to confirm Trump’s nominees, suggested the plan represented a significant level of cooperation between Metro Nashville, the State of Tennessee, and the Boring Company.
“The Boring Company has chosen Tennessee and Nashville,” said Hagerty. “To see the work between the City of Nashville and the State of Tennesse, coming together to create the environment necessary for this success, has been absolutely fantastic.”
It was previously reported that the Music City Loop may be up to 10 miles long, which would make it nearly five times the length of the Las Vegas Loop. However, the cooperation from Metro Nashville on the project, as suggested by Hagerty, could mean the loop could take a more direct path than the land adjacent to, and underneath, Murfreesboro Pike.
Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority President and CEO Doug Kreulen hosted the event, noting that Nashville’s airport now serves 70,000 passengers daily, making it the 28th largest airport in the nation.
Watch the full press conference:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
When do we finally get rid of Lee?