Elon Musk's Vegas Loop: Works well, but...

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Actually, it would be quite simple to better connect Las Vegas Airport, Harry Reid International, to the rest of the gambling city. One could take the existing Las Vegas Monorail, which currently ends at Tropicana Avenue next to the main entrance of the MGM Grand, and extend it a bit down the street and then further south to reach Terminal 1. By car, the nearly 3.5 km (right-angle street route, no direct connection) can be covered in six minutes.

However: The responsible city of Paradise has so far failed to overcome a lobby of limousine operators, taxi companies, Uber and Lyft drivers (along with the ride-sharing platforms themselves), who are a powerful force in the city. Currently, there seems to be only one person who can break this monopoly – which charges exorbitant prices depending on the time of day and hotel distance: Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX founder, major xAI shareholder, and owner of a tunnel company with the amusing name The Boring Company, which operates its only public network to date in Las Vegas.

Commuting in the Convention Center

The history of TBC, as the company is also abbreviated, has been rather disappointing: The almost nine-year-old company wanted to build tunnels in numerous cities in the USA (and beyond, including Dubai and Australia) to let autonomous Teslas drive there. However, most of the announced projects did not progress or were canceled entirely: Projects in Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Antonio, or Fort Lauderdale have so far come to nothing. Only in Nashville does it seem to be progressing (slowly). The cars are also still not driving autonomously by default, more on that later.

Ultimately, only Las Vegas remained as a market, but even there, progress has been quite slow since 2021. However, the Vegas Loop now exists and can be tested by users. Currently, however, it primarily serves to handle convention traffic. "The Vegas Loop at the Las Vegas Convention Center offers convention and trade show visitors a fast and convenient transportation option within the LVCC grounds, connecting the new West Hall with the existing grounds (North/Central/South Halls)," writes the client, the state-owned Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, or LVCVA for short.

The Vegas Loop is actually not in Las Vegas at all, but in the cities of Winchester (where the Las Vegas Convention Center is located) and Paradise (where most of the important hotels on the Strip and the airport are located). Most recently, the responsible transport authority, the Nevada Transportation Authority (NTA), approved the possibility for the Teslas to also drive normally on roads, as long as they also use the tunnels and end or start at a corresponding station. This opens up new possibilities for the project, which has been trying to build a tunnel to the airport for years. Thus, for the first time in several weeks, regular trips to the Harry Reid terminals T1 and T3 are on the schedule, as a kind of precursor traffic that, like any other car, may then get stuck in traffic.

Price-conscious for Las Vegas standards

The way this is implemented, however, is somewhat complicated. There are time restrictions, and you have to carefully check the list to see which stations are open when. For example, the Convention Center and Encore Hotel stations are open during trade show times (i.e., again now for CES), while Riviera, Resorts World, and Westgate are only open regularly between 10 AM and 9 PM. If you want to go to the airport, you can only do so in one direction and only from two stations: The Resorts World and Westgate hotel complexes – and not, which would surely be much more popular, from the airport to the hotel or directly to the LVCC. At least the ride at $12 is a real bargain by Las Vegas standards.

The use of the Vegas Loop fluctuates between futuristic and ordinary. Around 100 Model Y Teslas are in use as vehicles, offering ample space for luggage. There is always a driver on board who also steers by default. The tunnels are very simply constructed: relatively narrow tubes with asphalt surfaces, each intended for one direction. Not all stations are in buildings and/or underground: The Encore station, for example, is located outdoors at a hotel entrance before entering a tunnel. Finding the entrance is also often not easy: If the Loop station is in a hotel complex, you often walk many hundreds of meters and follow inconsistently good signage, as is unfortunately typical for such buildings in Las Vegas. Rides within the LVCC complex are commendably free; those who want to get from there to one of the connected hotels pay a moderate $4.25.

Colorful Loop with oncoming trucks

The large Loop stations are very colorful: Lots of LED lighting provides an interesting touch. Nevertheless, the user quickly realizes that this is a comparatively simple system of road tunnels. The advantage is electric driving, which releases no exhaust fumes, making ventilation easier – but there is fine dust from tire abrasion. No one should expect high speeds – if only because of the rather tight tunnel radii. Typically, speeds are around 35 miles per hour (just under 55 km/h). Many trains are faster than that.

When we last visited the Vegas Loop, there were no "Full Self Driving" (FSD) trials yet. These were started in November. Before the project, it became apparent that the vehicle detection of the Model Y models in the tunnels only worked moderately well: during the ride, the display often showed non-existent oncoming traffic, including trucks (see image). Tesla claims to have fixed this in the meantime. However, the FSD rides carried out since October, like before, included a driver who now acts as a "Safety Driver," which is also known from Tesla's "Robotaxis." The autonomous tours were only conducted between the LVCC Central Hall station and the outdoor Encore station. Those who want to experience what it feels like during CES (starting January 6th) can recognize the included vehicles by the imprint "Tesla Self-Driving Vehicle." The Safety Driver also immediately states that you are traveling autonomously upon entry – at least they should. When Musk's old dream of fully autonomous tunnel Teslas will be realized, however, remains to be seen.

Work Safety and Environmental Regulations

Meanwhile, TBC is busily digging and drilling in Las Vegas. The ultimate goal of 104 stations over nearly 110 kilometers is considered (extremely) ambitious, but now the new Westgate station (fans of "Pluribus" will take note) has been reached. The next steps include further stations as part of the so-called University Center Loop, including one at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas complex, one at the Hughes Center (which is also supposed to serve the Sphere, although this will be a long walk), and finally near Terminal 1 at Harry Reid Airport.

The head of the LVCVA, Steve Hill, expressed optimism to the Las Vegas Review Journal that problems with building permits would be resolved. The Vegas Loop is a "difference-maker" for the city. Little has been heard recently about problems during the construction of the tubes, where environmental and work safety regulations were allegedly violated. The state of Nevada is business-friendly; in fact, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), responsible for worker protection, even had to deny reports of not having looked closely enough.

TBC has now completed 16 kilometers of tunnels for the Vegas Loop. TBC does not intend to comply with the Nevada Transport Authority's request to build at least 20 percent of the remaining nearly 94 kilometers each year for the next five years – citing approval processes that are not foreseeable in terms of time. However, the plan is said to be in place – without a concrete end date. At an NTA meeting in October, company management stated that they even hoped to build more than the planned 110 kilometers. Now, the approval for "Surface Traffic," driving on regular roads, is coming first, as unexciting as that may be.

It is currently impossible to estimate how many sections the Teslas will still drive on roads in Las Vegas and not underground. In any case, according to the NTA meeting in October, the company is not only concerned with connecting the airport. While the taxi industry (along with limousine and similar companies) predictably considers the plan a serious mistake, the LVCVA has no objections. The state agency operates the Las Vegas Monorail, which has not been expanded for years – and is thus ultimately competing with itself.

(bsc)