The Boring Company is preparing to take its Las Vegas tunnel network to a whole new level. During a live Spaces talk on X, it was announced that the company’s first direct tunnel connection to Harry Reid International Airport is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026.
This new tunnel will connect the airport to key areas on the Strip and downtown using Tesla vehicles operating in dedicated underground lanes. According to the announcement, shared by Sawyer Merritt on X, the system is designed to move up to 20,000 passengers per hour, making it one of the highest-throughput airport transit options in North America if fully realized.
For travelers, the biggest immediate benefit will be speed and cost. The Boring Company is targeting pricing that undercuts traditional ride-hailing services by a wide margin. Trips from Downtown Las Vegas to the airport are expected to cost $12 and take around 8 minutes, while rides from the airport to the Las Vegas Convention Center will cost $10 with a travel time of just 5 minutes.
Compared to surface-level travel, which can easily take 20 to 40 minutes during peak hours, this could represent a massive improvement in both convenience and predictability.
Beyond the time savings, the company claims the system will operate at 50–80% lower cost than an Uber, helping make it an attractive alternative for budget-conscious travelers, event attendees, and daily commuters. With tens of millions of visitors passing through Harry Reid International Airport each year, even shifting a small portion of trips underground could significantly relieve pressure on major arteries like Tropicana Avenue and Paradise Road.
If successful, this project could set the stage for similar airport connections in other major cities — giving us a glimpse into what Musk believes could be the future of high-speed, low-cost urban transportation.
I’m hesitant to wade in,given how much flak I will inevitably receive but sometimes things need to be pointed out. You could build a train that started in Downtown Las Vegas (or even in North Las Vegas to serve some locals), and then run it along the strip, stopping about twenty times along the way while passengers with luggage struggle to board an increasingly crowded train and after about half an hour it would be ready to make its final leg to the airport and everyone would complain and say that they could just take their own Uber or cab and get to the airport without the crowding and hassle. The problem is those thousands of cabs have to deal with traffic lights and general congestion so it takes just as long as a train and costs comparatively more. So a hybrid solution is to offer everyone a more direct point to point form of transportation (ie from YOUR hotel with just YOUR luggage) at a cost lower than an Uber (yes Fuzz, I believe strongly that it would be easy to undercut Uber or cabs that charge $25 for a 10 mile trip)and by building dedicated tunnels you bypass the congestion of the surface system. There are plenty of things to object to, but can you not see the advantages as well? Claiming it can’t be done or will never work or will be slower and more expensive than projected is all so simple when it hasn’t even been rolled out. Let’s revisit this discussion a year from now and see how the reviews are after implementation. And by relieving much of the surface congestion, it will undoubtedly make it better for those who choose to continue to use the old system. Everyone benefits.
Surely enough of CP participants visit Las Vegas frequently to see that tunnels from various hotels to the airport is an IMPROVEMENT over what exists currently, no? What would YOU suggest that is better, keeping in mind the cost of building tunnels for trains are far more expensive than the ones being built for EVs.
I’m hesitant to wade in,given how much flack I will inevitably receive but sometimes things need to be pointed out. You could build a train that started in Downtown Las Vegas (or even in North Las Vegas to serve some locals), and then run it along the strip, stopping about twenty times along the way while passengers with luggage struggle to board an increasingly crowded train and after about half an hour it would be ready to make its final leg to the airport and everyone would complain and say that they could just take their own Uber or cab and get to the airport without the crowding and hassle. The problem is those thousands of cabs have to deal with traffic lights and general congestion so it takes just as long as a train and costs comparatively more. So a hybrid solution is to offer everyone a more direct point to point form of transportation (ie from YOUR hotel with just YOUR luggage) at a cost lower than an Uber (yes Fuzz, I believe strongly that it would be easy to undercut Uber or cabs that charge $25 for a 10 mile trip)and by building dedicated tunnels you bypass the congestion of the surface system. There are plenty of things to object to, but can you not see the advantages as well? Claiming it can’t be done or will never work or will be slower and more expensive than projected is all so simple when it hasn’t even been rolled out. Let’s revisit this discussion a year from now and see how the reviews are after implementation. And by relieving much of the surface congestion, it will undoubtedly make it better for those who choose to continue to use the old system. Everyone benefits.
Surely enough of CP participants visit Las Vegas frequently to see that tunnels from various hotels to the airport is an IMPROVEMENT over what exists currently, no? What would YOU suggest that is better, keeping in mind the cost of building tunnels for trains are far more expensive than the ones being built for EVs.
The question you're asking is:
"Would you rather be on a crowded train, or waiting in line forever".
There's a "Why not neither?" solution already invented here - a rail line with mandatory seat reservation. Then the train is never crowded, and you are waiting in line for significantly less time because a train can carry like 10 times as many passengers per hour through a tunnel compared to a bunch of electric jellybean pods.
Also - when one of those Teslas breaks down (which they always do) the tunnel is screwed. Trains have redundant systems and a far better reliability track record to keep the tunnel moving.
The Following User Says Thank You to Bill Bumface For This Useful Post:
They also don't have much for emergency escape routes. Imagine one of those things catching fire? You'd never make it out before choking to death, if you can even get the door open. And if there are 50 other cars in the tunnel? That'd get ugly quick.
Why are Americans so in love with driving other people to the airport and picking them up from the airport? It's one of those funny cultural things that constantly pops up in your pop culture, "picking up someone from the airport".
Airport is the worst possible place to drive to, because if you drive, someone who isn't flying anywhere needs to come to the airport too so they can take the car away from the airport, creating double traffic and extra work the driver. Then the same thing at the other end, so you need two extra people for one person to fly.
Picking up people from or taking them to the airport just sucks, the flights often come at inconvenient hours and airports are never in convenient places en route to anywhere else. This is why you build rails, or shuttle busses if that's not practical.
Why are Americans so in love with driving other people to the airport and picking them up from the airport? It's one of those funny cultural things that constantly pops up in your pop culture, "picking up someone from the airport".
Airport is the worst possible place to drive to, because if you drive, someone who isn't flying anywhere needs to come to the airport too so they can take the car away from the airport, creating double traffic and extra work the driver. Then the same thing at the other end, so you need two extra people for one person to fly.
Picking up people from or taking them to the airport just sucks, the flights often come at inconvenient hours and airports are never in convenient places en route to anywhere else. This is why you build rails, or shuttle busses if that's not practical.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
The World Ends when you're dead. Until then, you've got more punishment in store. - Flames Fans
If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
Why? Because currently getting to an airport is expensive for the reasons you mentioned (mostly it is located remotely from everything else). If one drives their own vehicle one must pay for parking for each day of the trip, which can easily be 10 days or more. Alternatively the taxi cartel eliminates the hassle of paying to store your car and adds the convenience of door to door service, but for an exorbitant fee. That is why people enlist the help of family and friends for a ride to and from the airport - to avoid a disproportionately high cost of what should only be a quick side trip. They are okay inconveniencing a person they know to avoid a service they do not see sufficient value for the premium cost.
But guess what, in the not too distant future an alternative will emerge that eliminates the highest cost input to that equation (the driver) in the form of an autonomous ride share system. Robotaxis will undercut taxis and Uber in a heartbeat. As soon as a company offers a convenient alternative for a fraction of the price, they will disrupt that market overnight. And if a municipality determines it would be better for the entire community and tourism economy to build an infrastructure that facilitated such coming and going by eliminating surface congestion by moving the system underground, well who is going to object to that? And why stop at just airport logistics? If you could drive down to costs of travel to less than a dollar per mile you start to disrupt vehicle ownership decisions. Lower the cost even more and existing mass transportation becomes an inconvenient and unattractive option. Who wants to share a smelly, crowded and noisy train or bus when you can chill out to your own music from your own curated “best band” while you work or nap or chat privately with your travel companion? If only such a scenario from a forward looking company existed now that was positioned to benefit from such a future.
Sorry, I tried to resist but I am a simple man. Go ahead and roast me. I’ll wait.
Ain't nobody reading all that, learn to be more efficient in your words. Just make every post "I will munch on Elon's shaft and balls 24/7 if he would let me" and be done with it, since that's what the diatribes basically always end up saying.
__________________
"Think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Sheeee......."
The Following 12 Users Say Thank You to Senator Clay Davis For This Useful Post:
I think they're decommissioning the monorail at some point soon (i.e. next 10 years or so), right?
It just felt suitable, being alternate transport Brupal asked for, and also featuring a grifter with a following he's tricked into supporting his failure. And it only took a song. Can Elon sing?
The Following User Says Thank You to Fuzz For This Useful Post:
It just felt suitable, being alternate transport Brupal asked for, and also featuring a grifter with a following he's tricked into supporting his failure. And it only took a song. Can Elon sing?
Not sure about singing, but he’s very good at video games.
The Following User Says Thank You to Aeneas For This Useful Post:
According to various news reports based on anonymous sources familiar with his activities, the substances Musk has allegedly used recreationally at private parties where guests signed non-disclosure agreements include:
