A bold and ambitious proposal has emerged from Russia, with Kirill Dmitriev, a special envoy to President Vladimir Putin and chief executive of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, calling upon Elon Musk to construct a tunnel beneath the Bering Strait. Dubbed the “Putin-Trump Tunnel,” this initiative seeks to establish a direct land connection between Alaska and Russia’s remote Far East, reviving a decades-old concept in the context of the Kremlin's efforts to strengthen ties with the White House.

Dmitriev, through a series of posts on X, claimed that Elon Musk’s drilling venture, the Boring Co., could undertake this monumental project. He estimated the cost to be approximately $8 billion and suggested it could be completed in less than eight years, although specific details regarding the feasibility of such a project were not provided. Neither the Kremlin nor the Boring Co. immediately responded to inquiries for comment on the proposition. Currently, the Boring Co.'s most significant completed public project is an underground loop in Las Vegas, connecting a convention center with several hotels.

The proposition is viewed by many as highly audacious, given the extreme logistical and environmental challenges it presents. The proposed tunnel would traverse some of the world's most desolate, remote, and inhospitable terrain. Emily Ferris, a senior fellow at RUSI specializing in Russian transport infrastructure, expressed skepticism, stating, “The question is who would even use it. It’s impossible to get up there in the first place and it’s mostly deserted. It’s not connected well to any other parts of the Far East.”

This unusual call for collaboration comes amidst broader diplomatic overtures. It follows a recent phone call between President Putin and US President Donald Trump, where discussions centered on efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Dmitriev's engagement with Musk and Trump aligns with a consistent pattern of attempting to garner support from prominent American figures for Russian initiatives. President Trump, when questioned about the idea at a White House meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, remarked, “A tunnel from Russia to Alaska — I just heard about that one. That’s an interesting one. We’ll have to think about that.”