Boring Wins Contract for Las Vegas Tunnel

Elon Musk’s Boring Co. has received a contract to build a high-speed underground transportation system for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), which is in the process of a massive expansion of the existing convention center.

The $44 million deal, which has been in the works since March, will include three tunnels (two for vehicles and one for pedestrians), three underground passenger stations and elevator/escalator access points. The vehicle tunnels will be capable of transporting as many as 4,400 passengers per hour.

Musk claims Boring will begin digging the tunnels this summer and complete the job by year-end. But the company hasn’t decided on how riders will be transported.

In December, Boring demonstrated a proof-of-concept tunnel in Hawthorne, Calif., where Boring and Musk’s SpaceX rocket company are based. A slightly modified Tesla X electric SUV was used to test the tunnel. Additional changes could allow a vehicle (pictured) to carry as many as 16 people, according to proposals.

LVCVA aims to open the expanded convention center, which will cover 200 acres and stretch as far as two miles from end to end, in time for the CES electronics show in January 2021. The contract with Boring is contingent on the company meeting a number of performance and timeline metrics, and includes penalties for not doing so.

Musk has boasted that Boring’s technology enables faster and less expensive construction than traditional processes. A rival bid for the Las Vegas project reportedly was to cost five times as much as Boring to build an elevated rail system.