The Boring Company

• Elon Musk’s Boring Company aims to build a network of road tunnels under major cities.
• Its president, Steve Davis, has a fittingly whimsical background, revealed in a Bloomberg profile.
• Davis reportedly slept at Twitter HQ with his wife and baby after Elon Musk sought his help.

The Boring Company CEO, Steve Davis, slept at Twitter’s headquarters after Elon Musk asked for his help following his takeover, The Information reported.

Davis spent the first few weeks after his baby was born sleeping in a makeshift bedroom in Twitter’s San Francisco office, along with his partner. The outlet reported that he spent two months working for Twitter after Musk asked for his help.   

Musk also owns The Boring Company, which has built a reputation for offbeat stunts. While its core business is focused on digging a network of tunnels for Tesla cars under major US cities, the company has also drawn attention for selling flamethrowers and building a Monty Python-style watchtower.

As it turns out, Davis has a history of wacky gimmicks throughout his career, detailed in a 2019 profile from Bloomberg reporter Sarah McBride (the profile builds on reporting from Ashlee Vance’s book on Elon Musk).

Davis was hand-picked by Musk to lead Boring, perhaps in part because of his colorful background. Before working for Musk, Davis founded a frozen yogurt shop and a bar that accepts bitcoin, among other ventures.

Boring Company has faced scrutiny, especially in Chicago and Las Vegas, where it aimed to build its first tunnels. Its first project is a 1.7-mile-long tunnel under the Las Vegas convention center that conveys passengers in Teslas. 

Here are some of the most striking details from Davis’ pre-Boring life.

The Boring Company’s chief executive slept at Twitter’s headquarters with his partner and newborn baby following Musk taking over the social media platform in late October, The Information reported.Steve Davis became head of The Boring Company in 2019

Mark Ralston/Getty Images, James Clayton/BBC

Source: The Information.

Musk tested Davis’ engineering skills by challenging him to make a $120,000 part with a budget of $5,000. After months of work, Davis emailed Musk that he did so with just $3,900 and Musk responded with one word: “Ok.”

The Boring Company

The anecdote was reported in Ashlee Vance’s book, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.

Davis was living in Washington D.C. working for SpaceX and missed California-style frozen yogurt, so he taught himself to make it “via trial and error” and opened his own yogurt shop, “Mr. Yogato.”Fro-yo, not from Mr. Yogato.

Mark Lenihan/AP

Source: Bloomberg

Mr. Yogato offered discounts to customers who could answer trivia questions, or ask “Seinfeld” trivia questions that Davis couldn’t answer. Customers also got a discount for dressing as tennis player Bjorn Borg.Tennis star Bjorn Borg.

AP

The “Rules of Yogato” are detailed on Mr. Yogato’s website.

Davis ultimately held a Willy Wonka-style contest to select the new owner of Mr. Yogato and sold it for $1 to the new owner.

Allison Shelley/Getty Images

Source: The Washingtonian

Davis founded and ran Mr. Yogato while simultaneously earning his Ph.D. in economics at George Mason University. The focus of his dissertation was US currency debasement.

Robyn Beck/Pool via REUTERS

Source: Bloomberg

After getting his Ph.D., Davis opened a bar in D.C. called Thomas Foolery, which was one the city’s first establishments to accept bitcoin payments.An illustration of Bitcoin tokens.

Reuters

Source: Washington City Paper

Thomas Foolery offered “gimmick upon gimmick,” according to the Washington Post. The bar offered “angry hour,” when patrons could receive a discount for shouting their drink order. Visitors to the bar could also get discounts for things like dancing “the Carlton,” a move from “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”The skyline of Washington D.C.

Reuters/Larry Downing

Source: The Washington Post, Thrillist

Davis is reportedly a devoted fan of Ayn Rand and has quoted “Atlas Shrugged” during public events. He was also an extra in a 2012 “Atlas Shrugged” movie.

Mironova Gallery

Source: Mother Jones

Musk hand-picked Davis to lead Boring Company. At an event announcing the company’s tunnel plans, Davis joked that they would use bricks made from excavated dirt to build a pyramid in Musk’s honor.

Robyn Beck/Pool via REUTERS

Source: Bloomberg