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Is The Boring Company’s Las Vegas Tunnel System a Success?
Apr. 27, 2023
Is The Boring Company’s Las Vegas Tunnel System a Success?

Is The Boring Company’s Las Vegas Tunnel System a Success?

New Twitter CEO and Tesla founder Elon Musk has a history of pushing the envelope and taking divisive actions. But the appropriately named Boring Company has largely fallen under the radar compared to Musk’s other ventures.


However, The Boring Company recently launched its tunnel network in Las Vegas. The idea was designed to reduce travel times and help people avoid traffic or having to walk in the hot Nevada heat.


But is the tunnel system actually accomplishing those goals? Or is it a far cry from what it was supposed to be? Keep reading to find out.

Musk’s Original Vision

Before taking a look at how the Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnels work today, it’s worth revisiting Musk’s original vision. The first idea was that you could drive onto a platform, be lowered down into the tunnel, and then the platform itself would transport your entire vehicle at nearly 100 mph to your destination.


Then the idea become a tunnel system full of autonomous Teslas that could transport people across the Las Vegas strip at high speeds—still significantly reducing travel times.


However, this project seems to have been more challenging and expensive to pull off than Musk and the Boring Company initially projected. The team has pulled out of agreements with several cities that were interested. And the Las Vegas tunnel system isn’t exactly aligned with Musk’s original vision.

The Tunnels

The BBC recently sent a reporter down to the Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnels to see how they worked in practice. They found that the project has not proceeded according to Musk’s original specifications.


The biggest difference between Musk’s original vision and the current Las Vegas tunnels is that the cars are not autonomous. Each Tesla is driven by an actual person, similar to a rideshare service or taxi.


Plus, the cars do not drive around the tunnels at speeds of 100 miles per hour. Instead, according to the BBC, they travel at about 30 miles per hour. So that’s a serious increase in the amount of time that it takes to get from point A to point B.

What People Are Saying

Elon Musk has clearly not achieved the original vision that he set out for the Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnels yet. However, that doesn’t mean that people are unsatisfied with them.


As part of its recent story, the BBC interviewed several people who used the tunnels. Each had positive things to say about their ride and how it beat having to walk or drive through traffic to arrive at their destinations.


The BBC also interviewed a project leader in the Las Vegas city government. She was happy with what they received, saying that they wanted a way for people to travel through Las Vegas that would put a smile on their faces, and The Boring Company’s tunnel system has accomplished that.

Conclusion

So, was the Boring Company successful with its vision for the future of transportation? The answer is still a bit unclear.


On one hand, the people who paid for the tunnel and those who use it on a regular basis both appear to be very happy with the project. On the other hand, The Boring Company’s original vision has not been achieved, and the fact that they are pulling out of similar projects in other cities is not a good sign.


At the end of the day, The Boring Company created something unique and enjoyable for the people who use it. And we can only hope that this system which is now open to the