Elon Musk's private escape tunnel is a step closer to becoming a reality

The massive traffic-defying tunnel Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk mused about on Twitter weeks ago is moving closer to reality every day.

Just a couple of days ago, Musk said that he planned on getting the tunnel started soon, and now a new report from the Washington Postconfirms a new aspect of Musk's latest experiment.

SEE ALSO: We thought he was kidding: Elon Musk is serious about digging a tunnel from his office

According to a source in contact with the paper, Musk is about to purchase a "large earth drilling machine" to aid in the work on a tunnel connected to one of his California properties.

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Last week, responding to a curious Twitter user, Musk described the tunnel as "starting across from my desk at SpaceX. Crenshaw and the 105 Freeway, which is 5 mins from LAX."

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However, contrary Musk's claim on Twitter that he planned "to start digging in a month or so," the report indicates that he has already begun the initial phase of tunnel digging at the SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, CA.

What remains unclear is whether this tunnel will be available to all SpaceX staff or just serve Musk's transportation needs. Based on the wording of his tweets, it sounds like it might be a his own, private Iron Man-meets-Batcave-style escape hatch, a detail that would only add to Musk's profile as an eccentric billionaire.

Of course, any massive tunnel project burrowing under public highways will require permission from the local authorities, an issue Musk hasn't said much about.

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Nevertheless, technicalities haven't stopped Musk from blazing trails in space and the automotive industry, so we're likely to Musk's tunnel -- which may be proof of a concept with wider applications in the future -- made into a reality before most of the Hyperloop projects his previous brainstorms have inspired.

Speaking of Hyperloop, Musk has also been tweeting updates from Sunday's Hyperloop Pod Competition, an event designed to foster the development of various Hyperloop projects. The competition is being live streamed here.

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