Expert explains if Elon Musk’s £20 billion tunnel from London to New York could really be built

He's back with another expensive and outlandish business plan, but could Elon Musk's £20,000,000,000 tunnel from London to New York actually be built?

Musk, who has, in recent months, been announced by returning President of the United States, Donald Trump, as the US's new Head of Efficiency, has since floated the idea of the mammoth £20 billion tunnel underneath the Atlantic Ocean.

And if built, he reckons it could get people from London to Manhattan in less than an hour - for context, a flight from one city to the next currently takes around eight hours, making it a revolutionary idea.

But it would mean no to planes and yes to trains, with the tunnel seeing locomotives travel at 3,000 miles per hour to get from one side of the Atlantic to the other; however, the X owner now reckons he can build it for less.

But could he really, or is this all just hyperbole?

Musk's words

The issue has been brought to light by one X user Musk interacted with on his social media channel. On it, the ordinary user wrote that Musk's company SpaceX could be cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during Trump's presidency.

He wrote: "Under Trump's FAA, @SpaceX could even get Starship Earth to Earth approved in a few years; taking people from any city to any other city on Earth in under one hour."

To which Musk replied: "This is now possible."

In regards to reports about the proposed tunnel under the Atlantic, Musk said his construction firm The Boring Company could do it for 1,000 times less than a reported $20 trillion.

Could Musk really build the huge tunnel? (Getty Stock Images)

Real life examples

As of 2024, the fastest train in the world will travel at up to 186mph, having had its speed reduced from 268mph in 2021. That's the Shanghai Maglev in China.

Vacuum technology combined with jet propulsion has been proposed for this new mega tunnel project that could bring travel time down to just 54 minutes.

But one engineer took to the internet to explain why the project is an incredibly difficult task and as a result, could never happen.

Posting to expert community forum Stack Exchange, they pointed out that the Atlantic's depths pose some major issues from the off.

With it going down 5,500 metres from sea level, scientists would need to examine the seabed's geological structure, identifying any faults, before they could even begin thinking about construction.

It means that even after evaluating the conditions down there, it could be ruled that the seabed was too soft to safely support such a construct. And then even if were okay, depth would be a huge stumbling block due to water pressure at 5,500 metres down.

The seabed might not support construction (Getty Stock Images)

"Additionally, such deep water will increase the ground stresses in the rock in the seabed, which will be problematic for an excavated tunnel," they said.

Then there's what already exists down there, such as submarines, whales, and ships, alongside enormous ventilation costs to keep air running down on the tunnel floor.

Despite all that, the biggest hurdle would likely be the huge, volcanic Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Wrapping around Earth, it stretches almost 40,390 miles, with the average water depth to the top of the ridge some 2,500 meters.

As the Stack Exchange engineer explains: "This is an active volcanic zone that is pushing apart the continental plates that separate the Americas from Europe and Africa.

"This ridge is visible above the water on Iceland."

The Fehmarn Tunnel's entrance point (INGRID RIIS/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

Hope exists

Right now, the Fehmarn Tunnel is being built underneath the Baltic Sea to link northern Germany with southern Denmark. While only 18 kilometres long, it is an example that these kind of projects can be done if the conditions are right.

Denise Juchem, a spokesperson from Femern A/S - the Danish company preparing the project - told Euronews Travel: "For commuters, it means a faster and more reliable connection between Denmark and Germany, significantly reducing travel time and making daily commutes much more convenient.

"Ultimately, the 18-kilometre immersed tunnel was deemed the best solution due to its lower environmental impact, reduced sensitivity to weather conditions, and cost-effectiveness."

That tunnel will open in 2029 and be subject to immense interest, that we can be sure of.