Connect with us

News

Elon Musk’s Boring Company proposes tunnel system leading to LA Dodgers Stadium

Published

on

The Boring Company has unveiled a proposal to build a 3.6-mile tunnel system under Los Angeles designed to transport commuters to the Dodgers Stadium. Dubbed as the “Dugout Loop,” the tunneling startup’s project aims to transport people to the stadium in under 4 minutes.

The LA Dodgers Stadium is one of the city’s most prominent landmarks, where events such as games and concerts are held. The stadium in itself is massive, with a seating capacity of 56,000. Unfortunately for Los Angeles residents, getting to the Dodgers Stadium is nothing short of a traffic-inducing nightmare. During peak season, it is not rare to see vehicles being backed up for miles in seemingly unmoving traffic. This makes the travel time to the stadium, especially for commuters with their own cars, an unnecessarily long and aggravating affair.

This makes the LA Dugout Loop the perfect project for the Boring Company, a tunneling startup conceived by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk due to his experiences in traffic. The Boring Company is currently involved in several projects, the most prominent of which is the downtown Chicago-O’Hare high-speed transport system, which is expected to break ground as soon as its permits are completed. A test tunnel under SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne is also nearing completion.

The Boring Company’s proposed tunnel for the Dugout Loop. [Credit: The Boring Company]

The 3.6-mile Dugout Loop will begin at the Dodger Stadium property and run under Vin Scully Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. The Boring Company has not announced the starting point of the tunnel system, but there are currently three options being explored. All of these options — Vermont/Sunset, Vermont/Santa Monica or Vermont/Beverly — are selected specifically to be close to Metro Red Line stations.

The Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering (LABOE) has posted a document covering some of the finer details of Boring Company’s proposed project, including the design of the tunnels, how the electric pods in the Loop system will work, and the accessibility of the tunnels themselves. The document, which could be viewed in full here, notes that the Boring Company plans to use access shafts that would serve as tunnel access points for ventilation, emergency exit, and general access. These would be spaced approximately 0.5 miles apart, totaling about three to six locations located along the proposed Main Artery Tunnel alignment.

 

Advertisement

The transport pods would be stored in parking spaces, parking garages, or car racks at Loop Lift locations. Lastly, the LABOE document also mentioned that initially, commuters who wish to use the Dugout Loop would book timeslots online or on the phone in advance. Initial operations of the tunnel system would be limited to around 1,400 people, but depending on community feedback, the tunneling startup could increase ridership to about 2,800 people per event. The ability to purchase tickets for the Dugout Loop onsite is also on the table.

The Boring Company’s proposed tunnel to the Dodgers Stadium has gained the support of some of the city’s officials. In a statement to WIRED, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti described the project as a good example of the private and public sector working together.

“It’s a great example of public-private partnership. We always reimagine the future in Los Angeles. We’ve always looked for new ways to move around,” the LA mayor said.

Advertisement

Dodgers CFO Tucker Kain also expressed his support for the project, stating that the team is always supportive of novel ways to get fans to games in a more comfortable manner.

“We were excited when the Boring Company came to us with this project. Whether it is flying overhead in an aerial transit system or bypassing traffic through an underground tunnel, we are always looking for innovative ways to make it easier for Dodgers fans to get to a game. We are committed to working with our neighbors and fans as the project moves forward,” Kain said in a statement to ABC7.

Construction of the proposed tunnel project is estimated to take about 14 months to complete. The tunneling startup is making its proposal for the Dugout Loop available for public review from August 16 to September 17. A hearing will also be held at the Dodgers Stadium on August 28.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Comments

News

Here’s where Waymo is launching autonomous robotaxis next

Waymo has its sights set on three new U.S. cities in the months to come.

Published

on

Credit: Waymo

Google parent company Waymo has announced plans to bring its self-driving robotaxis to yet another U.S. city, adding to the list of those it plans to deploy the service to in the next several months.

On Tuesday, Waymo announced in a press release that it will be bringing its autonomous ride-hailing vehicles to Washington D.C. in 2026, after it recently announced plans to start deploying the services in Atlanta, Georgia, and Miami, Florida, sometime in 2025. The D.C. services will utilize the Waymo One app, unlike some of the cities which will roll out through a partnership agreement.

“Waymo One is making fully autonomous driving a reality for millions of people across the U.S.” said Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo Co-CEO. “We’re excited to bring the comfort, consistency, and safety of Waymo One to Washingtonians, those who work and play in the city every day, and the millions of people from around the world who travel to the District every year.”

The company says it plans to continue working closely with legislators on regulations needed to operate driverless vehicles in D.C. Additionally, Waymo says it’s currently operating over 200,000 fully autonomous, paid driverless ride-hails per week, as Tesla and others aim to enter the commercial robotaxi space in the coming months.

READ MORE ON WAYMO: Ex-Waymo CEO dismisses Tesla, Cybercab: ‘They’re a car company with a driver-assist system’

Advertisement

“I’ve experienced firsthand how safely the Waymo Driver operates around pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users,” writes Jonathan Adkins, the CEO of the Governors Highway Safety Association. “Waymo has worked with GHSA and our first responder network as they’ve expanded their service, always putting safety first. As someone who walks to work almost every day, I’m excited to share the road with Waymo in Washington, D.C.”

Waymo also recently launched its robotaxi services will deploy in a partnership with Uber in Austin, Texas, where Tesla also has a so-called Gigafactory and plans to roll out its own robotaxi services later this year. The company currently operates paid driverless ride-hailing or early testing in the following cities, primarily in the U.S.:

The news also comes as Tesla aims to roll out its first unsupervised drives with its in-house Full Self-Driving (FSD) software this summer, along with rolling out initial robotaxi ride-hailing services. While the company doesn’t currently operate any paid ride-hailing like Waymo One, the company’s vehicles can generate real-time training data from drivers with FSD Supervised engaged.

Waymo study analyzes collisions with vulnerable road users

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Superchargers open to Hyundai’s EVs in the U.S.

Hyundai and Genesis are the latest brands to gain access to Tesla’s charging network.

Published

on

Tesla’s Superchargers are now officially open to Hyundai’s electric vehicles (EVs) across the U.S., adding to the wave of auto brands that can now charge on the once-exclusive network.

In a press release on Tuesday, Hyundai announced that owners of the Kona electric, Ioniq hatchback, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 5 N, and Ioniq 6, can charge at Tesla Superchargers in the U.S. using a CCS to NACS adapter, which the company is offering complimentary to owners. The news is set to give access to roughly 20,000 Superchargers in the U.S., as Tesla continues to roll out access to non-Tesla EV brands across the industry.

Hyundai says that those who purchased their EVs prior to January 31, 2025 will begin receiving emails on how to claim the free NACS adapters starting the week of April 7. The news also comes after Hyundai was the first automaker to debut a native NACS port with the Ioniq 5, beginning late last year.

Advertisement

READ MORE ON HYUNDAI: Hyundai dives into the robotaxi business with TX-based startup

“Starting today, more Hyundai EV customers will have access to 20,000 Tesla Superchargers across North America, doubling their fast-charging options,” says Olabisi Boyle, Hyundai North America’s SVP of product planning and mobility strategy. “This move improves the public charging experience by giving our customers even more choice. It’s a vital part of our commitment to ease America’s transition to electric vehicle ownership.”

Currently, the news only applies to Superchargers in the U.S., though one spokesperson from the automaker told Teslarati that more details are expected to come about the launch of access in Canada later this year.

Tesla now lists Hyundai, and its subsidiary Genesis, on its website as EV brands that are able to charge at its Superchargers, along with several others which have been added in the past several months such as Polestar, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Lucid, and Rivian, among others.

Hyundai also had record auto sales in the U.S. in 2024, with general retail sales up 4 percent and EV sales up 13 percent year over year.

Advertisement

Hyundai prepares for Trump’s tariffs with billion-dollar investment in the United States

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s simple message to vandals

Published

on

Justin Pacheco, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a simple and straightforward message to the vandals who continue to damage cars, showrooms, and Superchargers that the company and its owners utilize during an All-Hands meeting last week.

For the first time, Tesla and Musk broadcasted on X an All-Hands meeting the company held with its employees.

It seemed to be a justified response to skeptics and investors who have said that Musk has spent more time worrying about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) than Tesla.

During the meeting, Musk showed the company’s roadmap for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026 and aimed to resolve any sort of skepticism regarding his commitment. He told the employees to “hang onto their stock,” and commented on Tesla’s future impact:

“It’s very difficult like for people in the stock market, especially those that look in the rearview mirror — which is most people — to imagine a future where suddenly a 10 million vehicle fleet has five to ten times the usefulness. It’s so profound and there’s no comparison with anything in the past that it does not compute. But it will compute in the future.”

Advertisement

However, Musk did not stop there. He also had a message for those who have gone out of their way to key, damage, and sometimes even destroy Tesla vehicles and showrooms.

Several locations have been hit with gunfire, Molotov cocktails, and other things, while owners are reporting petty vandalism like keying and slashing tires more frequently now than ever.

Musk’s message to the vandals was simple:

“This is psycho. Stop being psycho!”

He continued:

Advertisement

“If you read the news, it feels like, you know, Armageddon. It’s like, I can’t walk past the TV without seeing a Tesla on fire. Like, what’s going on? Some people, it’s like, listen, I understand if you don’t wanna buy our product, but you don’t have to burn it down. That’s a bit unreasonable.”

Tesla’s biggest haters have continued to spew violence toward the company and owners of its cars, with some even putting on bumper stickers that read things like “I bought this before Elon went crazy!” to hopefully divert attackers.

The company also has the help of the federal government. The FBI has already established a task force to help investigate instances of vandalism and violence against Tesla. Additionally, President Trump has said attacks against the company are being considered as domestic terrorism.

Continue Reading

Trending