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Boring Co. gets go-ahead for tunnel expansion to Encore at Wynn Las Vegas

Credit: @ClarkCountyNV | Twitter

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The Boring Company has received an approval for a License and Maintenance Agreement from Clark County, Nevada Officials to expand its Vegas Loop to the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. The expansion was green-lit by Officials on December 1 and will operate at the right-of-way-on East Desert Inn and Paradise Road in Las Vegas.

The intersection of E. Desert and Paradise is also the intersection of two main points of interest that are related to the Boring Company project. At the intersection, the Las Vegas Convention Center and the LVCC Monorail Station are both located. The currently dug-out tunnel is located at the LVCC, and the LVCVA, who operates the LVCC, recently purchased the rights to the Las Vegas Monorail, giving the Boring Company more leeway in where it can establish future locations for tunnels.

The area of the intersection would be a great way to transport visitors from their hotels to resorts and clubs on the Strip. The intersection is located just East of the Strip and is surrounded by several chain hotels such as Residence Inn by Marriot, Courtyard by Marriot, and an Embassy Suites by Hilton.

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These lodging choices provide places to sleep and perhaps some food options, but nothing compared to what is available on the Strip. The Encore at Wynn is located on the North end of the Strip and is surrounded by the Venetian, Treasure Island, the Mirage, Harrah’s, and Caesar’s Palace. All of these options provide entertainment and nightlife, as well as various dining options that will provide visitors with a full experience of what Las Vegas has to offer.

The intersection of Paradise and Desert Inn is relatively close to the Wynn, but it would require some form of transportation. This is where the Boring Co. expansion comes in. (Credit: Google Maps)

The underground tunnel that the Boring Company will eventually dig out on this route will provide a reasonable and fast mode of transportation from off-strip lodging options to the heart of the city. Inversely, traveling from the Wynn to the Convention Center will take only a few moments, so if there is an event that is being held at the LVCC, there will be quick and reliable transportation options that will move people from location to location with relative ease.

The Encore at Wynn becomes the second resort to be approved for the Boring Co.’s expansion of the Vegas Loop, the first being another Wynn-owned property of Resorts World.

The Boring Company expansion is far from over, though. Eventually, Elon Musk’s traffic solution company plans to have stops at nearly every major point of interest in Las Vegas, with approval for all of the locations needed. It will undoubtedly take some time to put together, but the new mode of people-moving in Las Vegas has some life, and resorts are beginning to recognize the significance of the Boring Co.’s plans. New transportation is needed in Las Vegas, and smaller, more personalized vehicles may be a great way to make public transport more appealing and could be a solution to traveling after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Insurance officially expands to new U.S. state

Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.

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Credit: Tesla Insurance

Tesla Insurance has officially expanded to a new U.S. state, its thirteenth since its launch in 2019.

Tesla has confirmed that its in-house Insurance program has officially made its way to Florida, just two months after the company filed to update its Private Passenger Auto program in the state. It had tried to offer its insurance program to drivers in the state back in 2022, but its launch did not happen.

Instead, Tesla refiled the paperwork back in mid-October, which essentially was the move toward initiating the offering this month.

Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.

It has expanded to new states since 2019, but Florida presents a particularly interesting challenge for Tesla, as the company’s entry into the state is particularly noteworthy given its unique insurance landscape, characterized by high premiums due to frequent natural disasters, dense traffic, and a no-fault system.

Tesla partners with Lemonade for new insurance program

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Annual average premiums for Florida drivers hover around $4,000 per year, well above the national average. Tesla’s insurance program could disrupt this, especially for EV enthusiasts. The state’s growing EV adoption, fueled by incentives and infrastructure development, aligns perfectly with Tesla’s ecosystem.

Moreover, there are more ways to have cars repaired, and features like comprehensive coverage for battery damage and roadside assistance tailored to EVs address those common painpoints that owners have.

However, there are some challenges that still remain. Florida’s susceptibility to hurricanes raises questions about how Tesla will handle claims during disasters.

Looking ahead, Tesla’s expansion of its insurance program signals the company’s ambition to continue vertically integrating its services, including coverage of its vehicles. Reducing dependency on third-party insurers only makes things simpler for the company’s automotive division, as well as for its customers.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving gets sparkling review from South Korean politician

“Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasn’t as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about.”

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Credit: Soyoung Lee | X

Tesla Full Self-Driving got its first sparkling review from South Korean politician Lee So-young, a member of the country’s National Assembly, earlier this week.

Lee is a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee in South Korea and is a proponent of sustainable technologies and their applications in both residential and commercial settings. For the first time, Lee was able to utilize Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology as it launched in the country in late November.

Her thoughts on the suite were complimentary to the suite, stating that “it drives just as well as most people do,” and that “it already feels like a completed technology.”

Her translated post says:

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“Finally, today I got to experience Tesla FSD in Seoul. Thanks to the Model S sponsored by JiDal Papa^^, I’m truly grateful to Papa. The route was from the National Assembly -> Mangwon Market -> Hongik University -> back to the National Assembly. Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasn’t as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about. Once it actually spreads into widespread use, I feel like our daily lives are going to change a lot. Even I, with my license gathering dust in a drawer, don’t see much reason to learn to drive a manual anymore.”

Tesla Full Self-Driving officially landed in South Korea in late November, with the initial launch being one of Tesla’s most recent, v14.1.4.

It marked the seventh country in which Tesla was able to enable the driver assistance suite, following the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.

It is important to see politicians and figures in power try new technologies, especially ones that are widely popular in other regions of the world and could potentially revolutionize how people travel globally.

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Tesla dispels reports of ‘sales suspension’ in California

“This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.

Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has dispelled reports that it is facing a thirty-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued a penalty to the company after a judge ruled it “misled consumers about its driver-assistance technology.”

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the California DMV was planning to adopt the penalty but decided to put it on ice for ninety days, giving Tesla an opportunity to “come into compliance.”

Tesla enters interesting situation with Full Self-Driving in California

Tesla responded to the report on Tuesday evening, after it came out, stating that this was a “consumer protection” order that was brought up over its use of the term “Autopilot.”

The company said “not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem,” yet a judge and the DMV determined it was, so they want to apply the penalty if Tesla doesn’t oblige.

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However, Tesla said that its sales operations in California “will continue uninterrupted.”

It confirmed this in an X post on Tuesday night:

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The report and the decision by the DMV and Judge involved sparked outrage from the Tesla community, who stated that it should do its best to get out of California.

One X post said California “didn’t deserve” what Tesla had done for it in terms of employment, engineering, and innovation.

Tesla has used Autopilot and Full Self-Driving for years, but it did add the term “(Supervised)” to the end of the FSD suite earlier this year, potentially aiming to protect itself from instances like this one.

This is the first primary dispute over the terminology of Full Self-Driving, but it has undergone some scrutiny at the federal level, as some government officials have claimed the suite has “deceptive” naming. Previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was vocally critical of the use of the name “Full Self-Driving,” as well as “Autopilot.”

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