The billionaire so tired of being stuck in traffic he is creating a TUNNEL under LA to get to work: Elon Musk reveals first image of his giant boring machine that will beat congestion

He posted the photo with a reference to the popular video game Minecraft
Musk first announced the plans while stuck in heavy traffic in December
He tweeted: 'Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging'

Published: 08:45 EST, 6 February 2017 | Updated: 09:00 EST, 6 February 2017

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Elon Musk isn't the type of man who waits around for a problem to fix itself.

After being stuck in heavy traffic in December, the billionaire came up with a plan to create a giant tunnel under LA to ease congestion.

''Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging...', he tweeted.

And he wasn't joking. Musk has now tweeted an image of what appears to be a tunnel boring machine (TBM) that will do just that.

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Elon Musk's plan to tackle traffic using a huge tunnel boring machine (TBM) appears to be in full swing. The billionaire SpaceX and PayPal founder tweeted a photo that appears to show part of a TBM

BORING COMPANY

Elon Musk may have dreamt up his latest world-changing technology while stuck in heavy traffic.

In December he tweeted: 'Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging...'.

'It shall be called '"The Boring Company",' he added.

Musk even proposed a suggested slogan for the company: 'Boring, it's what we do.'

The idea might seem like a joke, but Musk ended his series of tweets with 'I am actually going to do this'.

He posted the photo with the caption 'Minecraft' - a reference to the popular video game in which players dig large tunnel networks for resources.

When Musk first announced his plans to bore a tunnel to his SpaceX offices in Los Angeles, it was hard to know if he was simply venting his frustrations about being stuck in traffic.

But he ended his rant on Twitter with: 'I am actually going to do this'.

The entrepreneur has a strong track record of getting ideas off the ground.

Musk has started two transportation related companies - Tesla for electric cars and SpaceX for launching into space.

He has also initiated the development of Hyperloop, a proposed method of travel that would transport people at 745mph (1,200km/h) between distant locations.

Now his latest idea could see people travelling through networks of tunnels, although details on the project are unclear.

The technology giant proposed a suggested slogan for the company in his string of December tweets: 'Boring, it's what we do.'

Elon Musk may have dreamt up his latest world-changing technology while stuck in heavy traffic. The SpaceX and PayPal founder tweeted about starting a company to make tunneling equipment to dig tunnels that will relieve traffic

Boring technology has become much cheaper in recent years thanks to advances in technology.

Herrenknecht AG, one of the world’s biggest tunnel-boring machine makers, says it is providing machines for as many as 100 projects annually, up from 20 some 15 years ago.

'The ability to deliver a tunnel on time and on budget has changed a lot…and really pushed the industry,' says Achim Kühn, a spokesman for the privately held German company, whose tunnel-boring machines can cost more than £40 million/$50 million each.

In December, Elon Musk tweeted 'Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging...'

His next tweet read: 'It shall be called '"The Boring Company"'

The technology giant even proposed a suggested slogan for the company: 'Boring, it's what we do'

The idea might seem like a joke, but Musk ended his series of tweets with 'I am actually going to do this'

Many drilling technologies have been designed with the aim to drill into the moon or Mars to mine them for raw materials.

For example, a company called Zaptec has come up with a new kind of plasma drilling technology that could make drilling on the moon, asteroids or Mars more affordable.

Musk is yet to announce when the Boring Company will begin drilling.