In Las Vegas for CES, Kyle Conner could not pass the chance of taking a ride in The Boring Company’s Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop system, a three-station transportation system consisting of 1.7 miles (2.7 km) of tunnel.
This tunnel connects the LVCC New Exhibit Hall with the existing campus (North/Central/South Halls), reducing a 45 minute cross-campus walk time to approximately 2 minutes.
Kyle and Jordan take a first ride from LVCC’s New Exhibit Hall to South Hall in a Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD driven by Adrian. As you probably know, the Model Y and Model X vehicles used in the loop are controlled by human drivers, despite Elon Musk’s promise of “electric autonomous vehicles with alignment wheels” back when the project was first announced.
Still, riding the Model Y through a narrow tunnel underneath a bustling city proves an interesting, almost surreal experience. As the driver points out to Kyle, he has to observe speed limits of 30 mph (48 km/h) in curves and 40 mph (64 km/h) on the straights.
That may not sound like much, but these speeds are considered the safest for human operation. Adrian also mentions that he’s only licensed to drive the Model Y, with the Model X requiring an additional test. Its purpose is mainly to ensure that the driver can safely handle the Model X’s additional width through the 12.5-ft (3.8-meter) wide tunnels.
For the return trip, Kyle and Jordan hop in another Model Y driven by Rich who shares the information that the highest number of vehicles operating simultaneously in the LVCC Loop was about 70 during SEMA Show (he didn’t say what year, though). That is amazing when you think about.
What’s also amazing is that these rides are free as long as users are visitors of the Las Vegas Convention Center. That’s because the tunnels don’t operate when there are no shows at LVCC.
Now head over to the video above to learn more about the entire operation, including the Tesla fleet charging strategy, driver requirements and passenger logistics.
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