UPDATE: Akbar Farokhi, a Senior Engineer with the City of Hawthorne, spoke with Nerdist and said that he is not aware of any plans by SpaceX, Tesla, or a “Boring Company” to dig a tunnel starting by Crenshaw and the 105 freeway. Farokhi did say that SpaceX has been in talks with the City of Hawthorne for almost a year with regards to a “pedestrian bridge,” or perhaps even a pedestrian tunnel, but he was unaware of any plans for a tunnel that could accommodate cars.

Farokhi did say that SpaceX could theoretically dig a tunnel on its own private property, but it seems a bit ridiculous for Musk to start building a tunnel that couldn’t go beneath public property, which would, Farokhi confirms, certainly require a permit.

Despite Farokhi’s not having knowledge of any efforts to begin any boring beneath the streets of Hawthorne, it’s possible he’s simply unaware of plans that may currently be in place. It’s also possible that the earth beneath the intersection of the 105 freeway and Crenshaw falls under the purview of a different City Government, although it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.

Regardless, it may be worth giving Musk the benefit of the doubt here, especially since he has a home in Bel Air, and anybody who lives in Los Angeles knows how horrendous traffic can be going North/South during rush hour (which is roughly all the time). Also, he points out in his tweets that SpaceX is only 5 minutes from LAX, which is probably where his private jet is.

***Original story follows below***

Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, with his incredible technological achievements and even more amazing aspirations for the future, has reached such a strange place in our culture. We never know exactly when the hell he is telling the truth about his latest idea and when he is just trolling us, like with his tweets about his (supposed) plans to start digging massive tunnels in the next 30 days.

Exciting progress on the tunnel front. Plan to start digging in a month or so.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 25, 2017

“Progress?” “Tunnel front?” Yeah. Maybe.

As noted in this CNN story, Musk mentioned last December that he was sick of Los Angeles traffic (super geniuses are just like us!) and he wanted to start digging to avoid it. That followed comments he made last year at Texas A&M about how tunnels were the obvious solution to cities’ traffic issues. “You could probably have 30 levels of tunnels and completely fix the congestion problem.”

Hmm, that is a lot of talk about tunnels, and from a guy that makes his own spacecraft. And his plan for super high speed human travel, the hyperloop, is a type of tunnel, isn’t it? Musk did follow up his tweet today not only with a “yup” about if he is serious, but with some specificity about where he will begin.

Starting across from my desk at SpaceX. Crenshaw and the 105 Freeway, which is 5 mins from LAX

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 25, 2017

Okay, L.A. tunnels? Obviously he’s joking, since Southern California wouldn’t be anyone’s top choice for where to have a lot of people congregate under the earth. Oh, wait, he addressed that too.

Earthquakes tend to have the biggest effect on the surface, like waves on water. That's why LA can have a (lame, but getting better) subway.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 25, 2017

Is….this real? Is Elon Musk really just a month away from getting to work on a vast network of underground tunnels that will forever change the way we traverse the globe? Uh, no. This feels like an elaborate troll, at least for now.

Because we think highly of Musk and what he is capable of, we put in calls to both the Public Works Department and City Manager’s office in the city of Hawthorne, California, where this supposed tunnel will be going, just in case (and will let you know if they get back to us). The logistics of such an endeavor would make it almost impossible to pull off without massive input, hearings, and public approvals from both local and state governments. No matter what Ocean’s 13 would have you believe, you can’t just start digging a massive tunnel underground without a few people noticing and asking questions. They definitely have rules about that sort of thing.

Of course, the very fact that we are giving even the slightest consideration to whether or not he isn’t joking, that this is real and we aren’t being trolled by a man who can realistically joke about becoming Iron Man, is a testament to what we think he can accomplish.

And while we have no doubts that he probably envisions a complex serious of tunnels being a part of our future, and that he will play a large role in making them happen, that work isn’t starting next month. He’s just having some fun with us for now. We’re almost definitely sure.

But what do you think? Is this obvious troll job not so obvious? Is he really about to break ground on moving us under it with his tunnels? Bore into our comments section below and tell us what you think.

Featured Image: CBS