The underground “Loop” planned by ELON Musk for Las Vegas has been in the works for years, with the billionaire aiming to expand it extensively.
The Boring Company boss has long pitched a 68-mile tunneling system beneath the Nevada city which will ferry passengers underneath Vegas in Teslas.
Boring claims that their system will have the capacity to transport 90,000 passengers per hour, surpassing the daily ridership of a typical subway station in New York in 2023.
This number far exceeds the capacity of the Las Vegas monorail (3,400 passengers per hour) and the city’s regional bus system (7,500 passengers per hour), as stated by Steve Hill, who played a role in bringing Tesla to Nevada in 2014.
So far, the plan has only been partially completed, with a version of the project opening in 2021.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority greenlit the 0.8-mile route, but that only allows people to drive their own Teslas under the desert city.
But Musk insists that the project will eventually span 68 miles of tunnels and include 104 stations.
A long-term critic of public transportation, he has insisted his scheme would be an improvement.
In 2017, he described public mass transit as “painful,” while on a separate occasion, he expressed his fears over safety on networks.
“There’s like a bunch of random strangers, one of whom might be a serial killer,” he said.
Musk has proposed his Hyperloop as an alternative to public transport.
However, the scheme has been slammed as overly expensive and not catering to ordinary people, as it would only be for drivers of expensive Teslas.
Musk’s Vegas Loop is privately run and receives no federal funding.
Supporters in Vegas say the project is the only viable way to ease traffic on the infamous Strip.
The scheme has also allowed Musk to dodge many of the building, environmental, and labor regulations, according to ProPublica.
Twice, the Boring Company installed tunnels without permits on county property.
The company also dumped untreated water into storm drains and the sewer system, according to state and local environmental regulators.
Things you need to know about Elon Musk
ELON MUSK is the CEO of Tesla Motors, SpaceX, founder of The Boring Company, and co-founder of Neuralink and open AI
Since 2022, there have been numerous issues recorded by county inspectors regulating Boring’s operations.
These include speeding drivers and unauthorized SUVs entering one of the above-ground stations.
A total of 67 incidents have been recorded, each one involved the breaching of the tunneling system, as reported by Fortune in October 2024.
Still, the scheme is still popular with some, as the city looks for cost-effective ways to improve its notorious traffic.
Plans are afoot to extend it to Harry Reid International Airport, which saw 50 million people land in 2023.
Hill has defended the Boring Company’s claims that the Loop will transport up to 90,000 people an hour.
“People poke at this all the time,” he said.
“I am completely willing to take that bet. Let’s just wait and see.”
