News
First videos of The Boring Company’s working LVCC Loop in action emerge
The Boring Company’s Las Vegas Convention Center Loop is now complete, and the first batch of videos of the low-cost underground transport system in action have been shared online. The videos, while brief, provide a glimpse at the potential of Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, which was created as a means to battle “soul-crushing” traffic aboveground.
The LVCC Loop serves as a good proof-of-concept for the tunneling startup, considering that the tunnels are relatively short and easy to complete. The Boring Company was able to finish and set up the Tesla-based underground transport system in less than two years, and this was despite the onset of the pandemic last year.
VEGAS LOOP SNEAK PEAK: The @boringcompany gave us a sneak peak at what’s underground at the @LVCVA #Vegas Convention Center. Take a look! #Tesla #RJNow pic.twitter.com/czngjYzunZ
— James Schaeffer (@jamesmschaeffer) April 9, 2021
So far, the LVCC Loop is capable of handling 4,400 people an hour with 62 Teslas, all of which are still operating with a human driver to maximize safety. Eventually, however, the LVCC Loop would employ autonomous Teslas and likely operate faster than the system’s current 35 mph speeds. This should allow the LVCC Loop to handle significantly more passengers per hour.
https://twitter.com/jgillanNews3LV/status/1380335343229001738?s=20
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, remarked that the LVCC Loop would eventually be using higher-capacity vehicles. Hill hinted at 16-passenger units that would eventually be rolled out for public use, though he did not disclose when the vehicles would be delivered and deployed. “It seems that during a pandemic is not the time to be increasing capacity,” he said.
Here’s the escalator ride down into Central Station of the Boring Company’s Convention Center Loop. #vegas #boringcompany #elonmusk pic.twitter.com/RS0g3AuPKO
— Mick Akers (@mickakers) April 8, 2021
The LVCC Loop currently features three stations, one near the entrance of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Central Hall and two other aboveground stations at the two ends of the Loop. Paved ramps are in place for the Teslas to climb to the surface for aboveground loading on the Loop’s east and west sides. Details about how the system would accommodate large numbers of passengers have not been shared, though Hill mentioned that the system would use an app that would allow visitors to hail a Tesla.
Two of the three @boringcompany stations at the Convention Center Loop are above ground. To reach the underground Central Station guests must take an elevator/escalator below ground. #vegas #elonmusk #boringcompany pic.twitter.com/d9TgsJ6N7H
— Mick Akers (@mickakers) April 9, 2021
The LVCC Loop cost about $52.5 million to complete, making it relatively affordable. During the bidding process for the project, The Boring Company’s Loop system proved far cheaper than an aboveground transit system proposed by Austria-based Doppelmayr Garaventa Group, which was initially estimated to cost $215 million to complete. Despite Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board member Carolyn Goodman arguing that Doppelmayr’s aboveground transit system could be brought down to $85 million, The Boring Company’s LVCC Loop was still 39% cheaper.
Watch a feature on the LVCC Loop in the video below.
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News
Tesla teases new market entrance with confusing and cryptic message
Tesla teased its entrance into a new market with a confusing and what appeared to be cryptic message on the social media platform X.
The company has been teasing its entrance into several markets, including Africa, which would be a first, and South America, where it only operates in Chile.
In September, Tesla started creating active job postings for the Colombian market, hinting it would expand its presence in South America and launch in a new country for the first time in two years.
The jobs were related to various roles, including Associate Sales Manager, Advisors in Sales and Delivery, and Service Technicians. These are all roles that would indicate Tesla is planning to launch a wide-scale effort to sell, manage, and repair vehicles in the market.
Last night, Tesla posted its latest hint, a cryptic video that seems to show the outline of Colombia, teasing its closer than ever to market entry:
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) November 12, 2025
This would be the next expansion into a continent where it does not have much of a presence for Tesla. Currently, there are only two Supercharger locations on the entire continent, and they’re both in Chile.
Tesla will obviously need to expand upon this crucial part of the ownership experience to enable a more confident consumer base in South America as a whole. However, it is not impossible, as many other EV charging infrastructures are available, and home charging is always a suitable option for those who have access to it.
Surprisingly, Tesla seems to be more concerned about these middle-market countries as opposed to the larger markets in South America, but that could be by design.
If Tesla were to launch in Brazil initially, it may not be able to handle the uptick in demand, and infrastructure expansion could be more difficult. Brazil may be on its list in the upcoming years, but not as of right now.
News
Tesla expands crucial Supercharging feature for easier access
It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.
Tesla has expanded a crucial Supercharging feature that helps owners identify stall availability at nearby locations.
Tesla said on Tuesday night that its “Live Availability” feature, which shows EV owners how many stalls are available at a Supercharger station, to Google Maps, a third-party app:
Live availability of Superchargers now in Google Maps pic.twitter.com/DJvS83wVxm
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) November 11, 2025
Already offering it in its own vehicles, the Live Availability feature that Teslas have is a helpful feature that helps you choose an appropriate station with plugs that are immediately available.
A number on an icon where the Supercharger is located lets EV drivers know how many stalls are available.
It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.
Essentially, when those drivers needed to charge at a Supercharger that enables non-Tesla EVs to plug in, there was a bit more of a gamble. There was no guarantee that a plug would be available, and with no way to see how many are open, it was a risk.
Tesla adding this feature allows people to have a more convenient and easier-to-use experience if they are in a non-Tesla EV. With the already expansive Supercharger Network being available to so many EV owners, there is more congestion than ever.
This new feature makes the entire experience better for all owners, especially as there is more transparency regarding the availability of plugs at Supercharger stalls.
It will be interesting to see if Tesla is able to expand on this new move, as Apple Maps compatibility is an obvious goal of the company’s in the future, we could imagine. In fact, this is one of the first times an Android Auto feature is available to those owners before it became an option for iOS users.
Apple owners tend to get priority with new features within the Tesla App itself.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Boring Co goes extra hard in Nashville with first rock-crushing TBM
The Boring Company’s machine for the project is now in final testing.
The Boring Company is gearing up to tackle one of its toughest projects yet, a new tunnel system beneath Nashville’s notoriously tough limestone terrain. Unlike the soft-soil conditions of Las Vegas and Austin, the Music City Loop will require a “hard-rock” boring machine capable of drilling through dense, erosion-resistant bedrock.
The Boring Company’s machine for the project is now in final testing.
A boring hard-rock tunneling machine
The Boring Company revealed on X that its new hard-rock TBM can generate up to 4 million pounds of grip force and 1.5 million pounds of maximum thrust load. It also features a 15-filter dust removal system designed to keep operations clean and efficient during excavation even in places where hard rock is present.
Previous Boring Co. projects, including its Loop tunnels in Las Vegas, Austin, and Bastrop, were dug primarily through soft soils. Nashville’s geology, however, poses a different challenge. Boring Company CEO and President Steve Davis mentioned this challenge during the project’s announcement in late July.
“It’s a tough place to tunnel, Nashville. If we were optimizing for the easiest places to tunnel, it would not be here. You have extremely hard rock, like way harder than it should be. It’s an engineering problem that’s fairly easy and straightforward to solve,” Davis said.
Nashville’s limestone terrain
Experts have stated that the city’s subsurface conditions make it one of the more complex tunneling environments in the U.S. The Outer Nashville Basin is composed of cherty Mississippian-age limestone, a strong yet soluble rock that can dissolve over time, creating underground voids and caves, as noted in a report from The Tennessean.
Jakob Walter, the founder and principal engineer of Haushepherd, shared his thoughts on these challenges. “Limestone is generally a stable sedimentary bedrock material with strength parameters that are favorable for tunneling. Limestone is however fairly soluble when compared to other rack materials, and can dissolve over long periods of time when exposed to water.
“Unexpected encounters with these features while tunneling can result in significant construction delays and potential instability of the excavation. In urban locations, structures at the ground surface should also be constantly monitored with robotic total stations or similar surveying equipment to identify any early signs of movement or distress,” he said.
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