--- title: "Elon Musk’s Boring Company Starts Digging “Viva Las Vegas Loop”" description: "The Boring Company has officially started digging a tunnel for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's futuristic transportation system." date: "2019-11-15" modified: "2019-11-15" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/boring-company-starts-digging-las-vegas-loop" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "las vegas" - "the boring company" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk’s Boring Company Starts Digging “Viva Las Vegas Loop” ![The Boring Company has officially started digging a tunnel for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's futuristic transportation system.]() *\Image: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority\* ## Let the Tunneling Begin In May, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) [approved a $48.6 million contract]() with the Boring Company to build an underground transportation system connecting the Las Vegas Convention Center's massive New Exhibit Hall with the existing campus. The LCCVC has now [announced]() that the Elon Musk-led tunneling firm officially began digging on Friday — meaning the company is finally working on its [first major project](). https://twitter.com/LVCVA/status/1195423724155092994 ## Basically a Subway Autonomous electric vehicles will ferry up to 4,400 passengers per hour at speeds of up to 249 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) inside two tunnels 40 feet below the surface, according to a May [press release](). A pedestrian tunnel will also allow walkers to make the approximately 15-minute-long trek across the convention space, which spans 3.2 million square feet. The LVCVA expects to have the tunnel completed by January 2021, while holding options open to connect the system to other key attractions, including Downtown, the Las Vegas Boulevard, and the McCarren International Airport, according to Thursday's press release. ## Roadblocks Other tunneling projects by the Boring Company haven't fared nearly as well as this one. The company's plans to connect downtown Chicago with O'Hare International Airport were marred by [corruption scandals and a ton of red tape](). In June, [Musk noted]() the project wasn't dead just yet, explaining that the company might still move forward with it, but replace specialized passenger pods with Tesla electric cars. **READ MORE:** [Boring Company To Start Tunnel At New Convention Center On Friday]() \[*KNPR*\] **More on the project:** *[Las Vegas Approves $48.6 Million Boring Company Tunnel]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()