Elon Musk has LA tunnel vision

Elon Musk says he will build a 240km/h train network underneath Los Angeles to bring an end to "soul-destroying traffic" in the city.

The technology billionaire behind Tesla and SpaceX promised the high-speed rail system of tunnels would cost passengers just US$1 ($1.45) a trip and would be constructed at a "cost that's not crazy".

Musk plans to launch a prototype train inside a 4.3km tunnel that his "Boring Company" wants to build on the western side of the city.

"We are going to figure out how to tunnel fast and safely," he told a community event in the city as he called for public support.

The project would see groups of about a dozen passengers travel in small pods through the tunnels on high-speed electric "skates".

He promised all the digging and boring required to build the tunnels will go undetected because it's so far down.

The Boring Company claimed that tunnelling could begin as soon as the first quarter of next year.

- Telegraph Group Ltd