Travelling at Mach speeds underground edges closer as Boring Co completes Vegas tunnel
Travelling at Mach speeds underground might soon be a reality, and Elon Musk is getting closer to realising it.
Key takeaways
- The Las Vegas Convention Center has been undergoing expansions since last year, adding some additional segments which include 600,000 square feet of additional, rentable, exhibition space.
- The Loop's job will be to connect the two buildings and minimize the 15 minute walk down to a 1 minute ride.
- The project saw the Boring Company's crew dig 40 feet underground for nearly a mile for the past three months.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2020) 'Travelling at Mach speeds underground edges closer as Boring Co completes Vegas tunnel', 311 Institute, 29 February. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/travelling-at-mach-speeds-underground-edges-closer-as-boring-co-completes-vegas-tunnel/ (Accessed: 8 October 2026).
Elon Musk's Boring Company's excavation of a transportation tunnel beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center has finally been completed, and with it Elon Musk’s vision of futuristic Mach 1 Hyperloop trains and autonomous cars travelling underground at astonishing speeds has just gotten that little bit closer. The company tweeted the news on Friday writing that it was a "breakthrough."
The post included a retweet of a video from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority that showed an excavator breaking through the ground at the end of the tunnel.
Post on X
Excavation is complete for the first of two tunnels that will comprise Elon Musk’s innovative underground transportation system beneath the LVCC campus. The project is scheduled to debut in January 2021. pic.twitter.com/CwpxEWDXYc
LVCVA (@LVCVA) February 14, 2020
The excavation is part of a project by the Boring Company that includes the design, construction and operation of a $48.6 million underground transit line for the Las Vegas Convention Center
The new transit line will be known as the Loop and will be used by autonomous transportation pods, that the company showed off a while ago, based on Tesla’s Model X chassis, that can carry up to 16 passengers at speeds of up to 155 MPH along its underground tunnels.
The Las Vegas Convention Center has been undergoing expansions since last year, adding some additional segments which include 600,000 square feet of additional, rentable, exhibition space. The Loop's job will be to connect the two buildings and minimize the 15 minute walk down to a 1 minute ride.
This is not the only tunnel the Boring Company plans on digging either, not by a long shot. The ambitious firm plans to connect, amongst other areas, the downtown Las Vegas, the Vegas strip, and even Las Vegas with Los Angeles.
The current tunnel is one of two that will be dug under the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The project saw the Boring Company's crew dig 40 feet underground for nearly a mile for the past three months.
“This marks an important milestone in the future of transportation,” Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill told the Reno Gazette Journal.
What this means for your organisation
Venues compete on access.
The convention centre added 600,000 square feet of exhibition space, and the Loop joins its two buildings. Fast links between sites can make large venues easier to use. Owners of campuses and venues should consider how people move between their buildings.
Transit can be built in months.
The crew dug 40 feet underground for nearly a mile in three months. Projects of this size could change how quickly cities add transport links. Planners should test whether small tunnels fit routes where surface options are blocked.
Ambition outruns delivery.
The firm plans links across the city and even to Los Angeles, and talks of travel at Mach speeds. Door-to-door journeys in a single pod remain a distant concept. Leaders should judge such schemes on what is built, not on the vision.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- How do visitors and staff move between our buildings today?
- Could underground links solve transport bottlenecks around our sites?
- What proof would we need before backing a new transit scheme?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Travelling at Mach speeds underground might soon be a reality, and Elon Musk is getting closer to realising it.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity programme, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- View on X → twitter.com
- Reno Gazette Journal eu.rgj.com
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 29 February 2020. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2020). Travelling at Mach speeds underground edges closer as Boring Co completes Vegas tunnel. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/travelling-at-mach-speeds-underground-edges-closer-as-boring-co-completes-vegas-tunnel/
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