Despite intense public outcry and questions, a state board approved a free land lease for The Boring Company's Nashville tunnel project. They can start digging at the state lot whenever they're ready.

It's called the Music City Loop, and the project marks Musk's latest effort to bolster his budding business empire in Tennessee. His artificial intelligence startup xAI, the parent of social media platform X, is building data centers and a power plant in Memphis, on the western side of the state.