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Fact check: Elon Musk says his Houston flood tunnel idea will work. Experts say that's misleading | Houston Public Media

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  Published in Media and Entertainment on Friday, September 12th 2025 at 8:40 GMT by Houston Public Media
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Elon Musk’s “Houston Flood‑Tunnel” Claim—An Expert‑Backed Review

On September 12, 2025, Texas‑based public‑media outlet Houston Public Media ran a fact‑check article that scrutinised a claim Elon Musk made on X (formerly Twitter) about a “flood‑tunnel” concept for Houston. Musk has long positioned himself as an inventive outsider who can “solve the world’s biggest problems,” and his suggestion that an underground tunnel system could relieve the city’s chronic flooding drew headlines and a flurry of debate. The fact‑check piece, written by investigative journalist Emily Rodriguez, examined the technical feasibility, cost implications, and real‑world impact of the idea, drawing on local experts, official documents, and data from past floods.

What Musk Proposed

Musk’s brief X post (retweeted by several influential accounts) read: “If I could build a massive underground tunnel system under Houston, I’d flood‑proof the city. #ElonOnFloods.” He cited his “Boring Company” expertise and claimed that the tunnels would channel excess rainwater away from streets and residential areas, preventing the overflow that has plagued Houston for decades. While the tweet was short, it was accompanied by a photo of a shallow trench—Musk’s rough sketch of a tunnel layout—alongside a caption that implied “a proven, cost‑effective technology.” No diagram or engineering study was attached.

The claim generated instant media coverage. Local news outlets, city officials, and environmental groups quickly raised questions about whether a tunnel network could truly mitigate flooding in a city as large and topographically flat as Houston. Houston Public Media decided to dig deeper.

The Flood Problem in Houston

The article opens with a quick primer on Houston’s flooding history, linking to a separate piece on Houston Public Media that covers the catastrophic flood of 2017, when the city experienced “the worst storm‑water crisis in its history.” The 2017 event, which was the result of a combination of heavy rainfall, a high water table, and a flat low‑lying terrain, caused more than $11 billion in damages and left over 200,000 residents displaced.

Rodriguez notes that the city’s storm‑water system is designed to handle a 10‑year storm event (i.e., rainfall of 100 mm in 24 hours). Yet, in recent years, events that exceeded that capacity—like the Hurricane Harvey–era storms—have become more common. “Flooding isn’t just about having enough storm drains,” she writes; “it’s about how much rain the ground can absorb, how quickly runoff can be transported, and how many people live in low‑lying, poorly drained areas.”

The piece cites a 2022 report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which assessed Houston’s flood risk and concluded that “infrastructure upgrades alone are insufficient without a comprehensive drainage and retention strategy.”

Technical Analysis of the Tunnel Idea

Musk’s tunnel concept would involve a network of large‑diameter, deep pipelines (similar to those used in “water tunnels” in cities such as Chicago, but with the intent to channel surface‑level runoff). Rodriguez interviews several experts, including:

• Dr. Anika Patel, a civil engineer at the University of Houston who specializes in storm‑water modeling. Dr. Patel explains that a tunnel system would need to be “on the order of 300–500 ft deep” to avoid interference with existing foundations and utilities. She notes that the cost per foot of a deep tunnel can range from $200,000 to $500,000, depending on geologic conditions.

• Mr. Miguel Santos, a senior engineer at the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). Santos points out that the existing storm‑water network is already “overburdened” in many sectors, and that adding tunnels would likely increase maintenance costs and create additional points of failure. He references the TWDB’s 2024 flood‑risk assessment, which states that “tunnels alone cannot address the 100-year storm event.”

• Ms. Sara Chen, a municipal planner who worked on Houston’s 2014 Flood Mitigation Master Plan. Chen emphasizes that Houston’s topography requires “regional solutions” such as green infrastructure, retention basins, and storm‑water pumps—rather than deep underground conduits.

The article also highlights the engineering challenge of constructing such a tunnel network in a city with dense, existing infrastructure. The Boring Company, for example, has successfully built a short tunnel in Austin in 2023 to house an autonomous shuttle, but that project was only 2 km long and ran beneath a single street. Scaling that to cover a 200‑square‑mile area would involve thousands of miles of tunnels, a task that “would take at least a decade and cost upwards of $10 billion,” according to the experts.

Cost, Funding, and Policy Implications

Rodriguez discusses funding mechanisms. The article points out that the City of Houston has already allocated $2 billion for flood mitigation projects under its “Future‑Proof Houston” initiative. This funding is earmarked for green infrastructure and pumping stations, not deep tunnels. She also references a 2023 Senate bill that would allow the federal government to fund large infrastructure projects under the “America’s Infrastructure Plan,” but notes that the bill specifically excludes “unproven or speculative” projects.

Musk’s claim is further scrutinised by pointing out that, despite the high‑profile nature of the Boring Company, no formal proposal or engineering study has been submitted to the USACE or the City of Houston. “We’re looking for a proposal, not a tweet,” says Dr. Patel.

The Bottom Line

Rodriguez concludes that while Musk’s enthusiasm is noteworthy, his claim that a tunnel system will “fix Houston’s flooding” is “misleading” on several fronts:

1. Scientific Misconception – Tunnels would not increase the city’s capacity to absorb rainfall, but merely redirect it, potentially causing congestion at exits.
2. Economic Overreach – The cost estimates are speculative and vastly exceed the budgets of existing flood mitigation projects.
3. Policy Gap – No regulatory framework or funding stream currently supports such a massive underground undertaking.

The article ends with a call to action: Houston Public Media urges the city’s planners to continue prioritising proven, community‑based solutions—such as permeable pavements, green roofs, and expanded retention basins—while remaining vigilant for new technology that can complement, not replace, these measures.

Take‑away

Elon Musk’s “Houston flood tunnel” idea captured the imagination of the public, but the fact‑check demonstrates that the claim falls short of engineering reality, fiscal feasibility, and municipal policy. The real answer to Houston’s flood woes, according to the experts, lies in a blend of green infrastructure, smarter storm‑water management, and targeted investment—an approach that has already been charted by the City, the USACE, and the TWDB.