Everything You Need to Know About the Tesla Tunnel
Learn everything there is to know about The Boring Company
Tesla is the undisputed king of electric vehicles – they were the first electric car company to sell over two million units, and have a supercharger network all over the world.
Tesla’s infamous founder Elon Musk has founded ‘The Boring Company’ (TBC), a geotechnical engineering company that aims to build intra-city transit systems – all-electric, zero-emission, and highspeed underground public transportation systems that shuttle their passengers without an intermediary stop.
TBC have two completed projects, one in Nevada and one in California. This is everything you need to know about loop tunnels.
What is the Tesla Tunnel?
The ‘Tesla Tunnel’ is not the official name of the tunnels built by TBC, but rather a colloquial term. The Nevada tunnel, the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop (LVCC) is 1.7 miles long and was built in one year. It currently operates for conventions and has three stations. It promises to reduce a 45-minute cross-campus journey time to an incredible two minutes.
The other completed tunnel is in Hawthorne California and runs around the outside of Hawthorne Municipal Airport. It is 1.12 miles long and is being used to test the ‘loop-based transportation’ method.
How Does It Work?
In Nevada, the tunnel is operated using Tesla Model 3 and Model X electric cars with human drivers, who take passengers at 35 miles per hour from point to point.
In May 2021, testing with volunteers, the tunnel proved to transport as many as 4,400 passengers per hour. It began to transport convention goers in June of 2021, and reduced a 25-minute walk to a 2-minute drive. In January 2023 the LVCC Loop had an average ride time of under two minutes and an average wait time of less than 10 seconds.
The Hawthorne Tunnel is currently undergoing testing, and it is unsure of when the tunnel will be available for the public.
How Does Building the Tunnels Work?
It is proven that tunnels are an effective method of solving traffic problems and speeding up commutes – just look at the London Underground and the other countless subway and metro systems all over the world – but how are these new tunnels executed?
TBC have their own Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) to carve out the tunnel’s underneath cities. In the simplest terms, they work like moles: they excavate tunnels using a circular cross section to bore through rock, soil and sand.
TBC say that once the boring machine is below 28 feet the tunnelling process is practically impossible to detect, so it is not disruptive to local people, and the dirt that is excavated is recycled for bricks and pavers to be used for affordable housing and patios.
What is The Hyperloop?
Hyperloop is an ultra-high-speed public transportation system in which passengers travel in autonomous electric pods at over 600 miles per hour. There is an 0.8-mile Hyperloop Test Track that was constructed in 2016. The project ran a competition for engineering students to design and build the pods used on the Hyperloop. The winning pod reached speeds of 288mph.
TBC is working with local governments and private stakeholders to develop these Hyperloop systems. They have predicted that an Hyperloop trip from DC to New York would take less than 30 minutes, and a trip from DC to Baltimore would take less than 8 minutes – apposed to the one hour drive it takes you today.
What are the Plans for the Future?
TBC have lots of plans, and their end goal is to essentially revolutionise the way we travel. The ‘Loop’ is a plan for public transport, in which 12-foot-wide tunnels can be used for passengers to be driven – for apparently ‘infinite’ distances. They also have plans for ‘Utility’, which will ‘provide convenient access to multiple utilities without surface disruption’, ‘Freight’ for shipping containers, and ‘Pedestrian’, so those who travel by foot can avoid surface road traffic.
Construction on the Resorts World Connecter will begin in Q4 of 2023, which will provide convenient and direct connection between resorts on the Las Vegas strip and multiple exhibition halls at the LVCC. They are also hoping to extend the Vegas Loop, to include the Strip, Harry Reid International Airport, Allegiant Stadium and downtown Las Vegas.
Additional plans in Miami, San Jose, Fort Lauderdale and South Texas have also been spoken about, extending the TBC’s plans country wide.
What are the Issues with the Tesla Tunnel?
TBC have been met with some criticism. Several civil engineering experts and tunnelling industry veterans questioned the legitimacy of Elon Musk’s claims to be able to deliver TBC’s promises. The plans were also criticised for lacking in safety features such as emergency exits and ventilation systems.
The single lane design also raises concerns about potential collisions or mechanical failures – in the event of such an issue, the tunnel would have to be completely shut down.
Will We See a Tesla Tunnel in the UK?
As of February 2024, there are no plans for TBC to expand their plans any further than the USA. However, there is nothing to suggest that the Boring Company couldn’t bring their designs to UK soil. As we inch closer to the 2035 ban on sale of ICE vehicles in the UK, a fully electric transport tunnel may not be a world away…