(Chicago)

One of Elon Musk’s most promising and exciting ideas just won a major funding bid. A couple of years ago Musk divulged his idea for underground “hyperloop” travel that sent people whisking around at hundreds of miles an hour underground. Well, the idea is going to become a reality, as Chicago has just awarded Musk’s “Boring Company” a contract to build such a link between O’Hare airport and the city. The distance between the two is 18 miles and currently takes around 40 mins. Musk’s plan would cut the trip to 12 min. The deal will be privately funded.

FINSUM: This sounds like a great proof of concept for Musk, but we do worry it will take some of his focus away from executing on Tesla.