On Friday, President Donald Trump considered a rather unusual idea about building an undersea rail tunnel between Alaska and Russia, a proposal put forward by Kirill Dmitriev, a special envoy from President Vladimir Putin.
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Trump mentioned, “I just heard about the tunnel from Russia to Alaska. It’s interesting. We’ll have to think about it.” There was an air of curiosity in his tone, although the idea felt a bit far-fetched.
Interestingly, Dmitriev suggested via social media that Elon Musk’s Boring Company could get some financial backing from Russia’s sovereign wealth fund to develop connections between these adversarial nations.
The envoy praised the concept, mentioning that the “70-mile link that symbolizes unity” could be named the “Putin-Trump Tunnel.” It almost sounds like something out of a movie.
“Let’s create the future together!” Dmitriev expressed, tagging both Musk’s personal account and his tunneling company.
Meanwhile, Zelensky has been on the frontlines against Russian aggression for over three years, and his fatigue wasn’t hard to notice. When Trump asked how he felt about the tunnel idea, he candidly responded, “I’m not happy about this.” Trump chuckled, saying, “I don’t think you’ll like it! I don’t think he’ll like it!” It was a moment that mixed humor with tension.
Requests for comments from Musk’s team and The Boring Company went unanswered at the moment.
Dmitriev also provided a financial perspective, estimating that while the tunnel could initially cost over $65 billion, it might be brought down to less than $8 billion with the use of The Boring Company’s technology.
These discussions about the tunnel followed a phone call between Trump and Putin concerning the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
In a future event, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials plan to meet with Russian counterparts before Trump and Putin gather later in Budapest, Hungary.
However, constructing such a tunnel near the Bering Strait would be quite a challenge. Workers would face sub-zero temperatures and the risk of earthquakes in the region.
Typically, Musk’s endeavors have unfolded in warmer and drier places, like the tunnels in Las Vegas.
Recently, environmental regulators in Nevada fined The Boring Company for what they termed an “unusual number of violations” during their construction projects.
On another note, The Boring Company is also in the midst of developing a 16-mile rapid transit system in Nashville, known as the Music City Loop, which aims to connect downtown with the airport. Yet there are locals who voice concern, suggesting that the project favors developers more than residents and lacks transparency.
Musk already has established connections with Russia through several of his ventures. For instance, Tesla’s supply chain is linked to Russia, and SpaceX has previously launched Russian astronauts to the International Space Station.
Moreover, reports indicate that Musk has had meetings with Putin on multiple occasions, including a covert gathering in 2022. It was suggested that Putin may have pressured Musk to restrict his Starlink satellite service for Taiwan, possibly as a favor to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
