Low Rollers: Tesla Tunnel Vision for Sin City Pays Off

“Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel-boring machine and just start digging…” This tweet—fired off by Elon Musk in December, 2016 after being stuck in LA traffic, long before he bought Twitter and renamed it X—sparked the creation of The Boring Company. It’s now behind one of the most ambitious private transport experiments in a major American city. Critics called the idea a “tech bro fever dream” but Musk’s vision—an underground Tesla transport network—found a home in Las Vegas and has since become an operational reality, with expansion plans already in motion. As Australian cities weigh up billion-dollar rail projects, Sin City’s gamble on the radical subterranean system seems to be paying off—though not everyone’s convinced. The Vegas Loop has been operating since 2021 beneath the Las Vegas Convention Centre. Funded by tourism-driven tax and championed by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), the project was built by The Boring Co and links three stations across the 81ha site. It was introduced to reduce walking times across the sprawling campus, which hosts hundreds of thousands of attendees each year at some of the world’s largest trade shows. Guests descend 12m underground and are ferried around the 2.7km loop in Teslas driven by staff—cutting a 25-minute walk to a two-minute ride. The goal is to eventually offer a driverless service. ▲ One of the stops on the Las Vegas Convention Centre Loop. This three-station loop serves as the pilot for a much larger citywide network now under construction. According to the authority vice-president of transportation, Ingrid Reisma, the city had long been searching for a better way to move large volumes of event-goers and tourists. “The question of efficient, affordable and effective public transportation has been one Vegas has been trying to solve for quite some time,” she says. “Alternative transportation solutions in the resort corridor have been studied for decades—including a subway system, a light rail system and others. “Due to cost and functionality, none of those were viable options.” The authority, funded primarily through hotel room taxes, awarded a $US48.7 million contract to Musk’s company in May 2019. Drilling started that November, with the tunnel-boring machine advancing about 15m a day. The first 1.3km tunnel was completed by mid-February 2020, with the second finished by May. Testing began with volunteers in May 2021 and the service opened to the public shortly after. The authority says the loop has transported more than three million passengers. ▲ More stations for the Las Vegas Convention Centre Loop are on their way. “It remains the highest-rated aspect of the LVCC [Las Vegas Convention Centre] experience in customer surveys,” Reisma says. “It has also been exceptionally safe in its operation, with nothing more than a fender bender along the way.” The network’s expansion has already promoted stations to open at Resorts World and Westgate, both next to the convention cente, with tunnelling under way towards the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The broader Vegas Loop is planned to span in excess of 160km, with more than 90 stations connecting key destinations, including Harry Reid International Airport, the Las Vegas Strip, downtown Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium. Unlike the publicly funded pilot, the citywide system will be entirely privately financed. The Boring Company is responsible for constructing and operating the tunnels, while property owners—such as casinos, resorts and venues—are expected to build and maintain their own stations. Rides within the Convention Centre Loop remain free for event attendees, but the wider network will eventually operate under a fare-based model. But the project has faced scrutiny. While the Loop’s privately funded model has been touted as a faster, more agile alternative to traditional public infrastructure, it has also caused some unease for operating with limited oversight. ▲ The loop has not been without its critics. A recent ProPublica investigation reported the project has largely bypassed the typical regulatory processes required for public transit systems—such as environmental assessments and open public consultation—thanks in part to its funding model and close relationship with local tourism authorities. The system has drawn criticism from transport and urban mobility experts who argue moving people in Teslas through narrow tunnels is a car-centric workaround—not a meaningful alternative to high-capacity public transit. Jarrett Walker, a public transport consultant and author of the transit design and policy book, Human Transit, described the system as “the opposite of a transit network”, pointing to its limited ability to move passengers compared with even modest light rail. Former Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman also questioned the project’s value, citing safety and accessibility concerns, saying she “remains totally opposed” to the tunnel concept. According to rider reviews, some have found the experience quick and smooth, and enjoyed the colourful LED lighting in the tunnels. But others have found it underwhelming due to slow speeds, tight tunnel dimensions and unclear emergency exits. In early 2024, the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued multiple safety violations against The Boring Company, citing incidents in which workers suffered chemical burns during tunnel construction. The company was fined more than $US112,000 and is contesting the citations. The authority has since taken a more active role in overseeing safety on the project. Despite the criticism, the project sits within a wider context of growth. In 2022, more than 125,000 Australians visited Las Vegas, making Australia the city’s fourth-largest international market, according to Vegas Means Business. The same year, Las Vegas hosted around five million convention attendees across multiple venues, generating an estimated $US7.5 billion in economic impact, Skift Meetings reported. With the Convention Centre Loop now integrated into the precinct, the system is part of a broader initiative to streamline movement across the city during large-scale events. “Once fully complete, the system will serve as a personalised mass transit option ... capable of serving up to 90,000 passengers per hour,” Reisma says. Urban innovation in the desert The Vegas Loop isn’t the only sign Las Vegas is rethinking how people move, connect and experience the city. The Sphere, a $US2.3-billion, LED-wrapped immersive arena, opened in late 2023 and has redefined entertainment architecture with its 112m-high, 157m-wide structure and programmable exterior. Inside, it seats 18,600 people and features a 15,000sq m wraparound screen and spatial audio, attracting global attention for its mix of spectacle and smart precinct integration. In the city’s southwest, UnCommons, a $US800-million, 16ha mixed-use development, reflects a shift towards wellness-led, post-pandemic urban planning. Centred around open space, walkability and flexible workplaces, the precinct includes 46,000sq m of office space alongside retail, dining and public areas designed to encourage social connection. Then there’s Symphony Park, a long-term urban-renewal effort transforming underutilised downtown land into a cultural and residential precinct, anchored by institutions such as the Smith Centre for the Performing Arts. These projects reflect a city exploring new ways to design, connect and move. Whether the Vegas Loop proves to be a blueprint or a one-off, it’s already reshaping how one of the world’s most visited cities moves its people.

Low Rollers: Tesla Tunnel Vision for Sin City Pays Off

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