News
Elon Musk’s Boring Company gets closer to Las Vegas tunnel with first approval
The Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnel has taken a step forward, after the board of directors for the city’s Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) recently voted in favor of the tunneling startup and its proposed 2-mile people-mover project.
The proposed Las Vegas transport line involves digging a series of underground tunnels that could carry passengers around the LVCVA’s campus. The 2-mile tunnel would initially encompass the convention center, but if successful, it could be expanded to other points in the city such as McCarran International Airport. The tunneling startup expects the initial project to cost somewhere along the range of $35 million and $55 million.
Steve Hill, LVCVA’s president and CEO, expects The Boring Company’s transport tunnel could serve a purpose beyond just transporting visitors from one point in the campus to another. “I think the system is an attraction in and of itself,” Hill said in a statement to The Verge.
Initial goals for the project point to the transit system being fully functional before the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2021, though Elon Musk has expressed has stated on Twitter that the transport system could be operational by the end of the year.
A project such as the Las Vegas transport line is practically tailor-fit for a tunneling startup like The Boring Company. At just two miles long, the project is not too far from the scale of the company’s test tunnel in Hawthorne, CA, which is just over one mile long and constructed using Godot, a conventional tunnel boring machine. With further optimizations in its tunneling processes and the deployment of Line-Storm (a hybrid TBM that employs both conventional and electric systems), the Las Vegas tunnel could be completed well within the project’s ambitious timeframe and cost.
The location of the project will be advantageous for the tunneling startup as well, since Las Vegas is only a few hundred miles away from The Boring Company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. This will allow the tunneling startup to immediately address any issues that could arise while the transport line is being constructed.
The Las Vegas transport line could very well become The Boring Company’s first commercial undertaking. While the startup is involved in several high-profile projects, some of its initiatives, such as the Chicago-O’Hare transport line, have been met with political headwinds. Amidst the impending departure of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was widely supportive of the high-speed transport project, several candidates in the mayoral elections have begun to call for a re-evaluation of the tunneling startup’s plans.
For Boring Company President Steve Davis, the Las Vegas tunnel provides a good balance of simplicity and scale. “It’s simpler than some of our other projects. When people come and use this system, they’ll like it or not like it, and if they like it there are useful places to go,” he said.
News
Tesla Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD estimated delivery slips to early fall 2026
Tesla has also added a note on the Cybertruck design page stating that the vehicle’s price will increase after February 28.
Tesla’s estimated delivery window for new Cybertruck Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive (AWD) orders in the United States has shifted to September–October 2026. This suggests that the vehicle’s sub-$60,000 variant is now effectively sold out until then.
The updated timeline was highlighted in a post on X by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt, who noted that the estimated delivery window had moved from June 2026 to September-October 2026, “presumably due to strong demand.”
The Dual Motor AWD currently starts at $59,990 before incentives. Tesla has also added a note on the Cybertruck design page stating that the vehicle’s price will increase after February 28.
If demand remains steady, the combination of a later delivery window and a pending price increase suggests Tesla is seeing sustained interest in the newly-introduced Cybertruck configuration. This was highlighted by Elon Musk on X, when he noted that the Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD’s introductory price will only be available for a limited time.
When the Cybertruck was first unveiled in November 2019, Tesla listed the Dual Motor AWD variant at $49,990. Adjusted for inflation, that figure equates to roughly $63,000 in 2026 dollars, based on cumulative U.S. inflation since 2019.
That context makes a potential post-February price in the $64,000 to $65,000 range less surprising, especially as material, labor, and manufacturing costs have shifted significantly over the past several years.
While Tesla has not announced a specific new MSRP, the updated delivery timeline and pricing note together suggest that the Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD could very well be the variant that takes the all-electric full-sized pickup truck to more widespread adoption.
Elon Musk
SpaceX targets 150Mbps per user for upgraded Starlink Direct-to-Cell
If achieved, the 150Mbps goal would represent a significant jump from the current performance of Starlink Direct-to-Cell.
SpaceX is targeting peak download speeds of 150Mbps per user for its next-generation Direct-to-Cell Starlink service. The update was shared by SpaceX Spectrum & Regulatory Affairs Lead Udrivolf Pica during the International Telecommunication Union’s Space Connect conference.
“We are aiming at peak speeds of 150Mbps per user,” Pica said during the conference. “So something incredible if you think about the link budgets from space to the mobile phone.”
If achieved, the 150Mbps goal would represent a significant jump from the current performance of Starlink Direct-to-Cell.
Today, SpaceX’s cellular Starlink service, offered in partnership with T-Mobile under the T-Satellite brand, provides speeds of roughly 4Mbps per user. The service is designed primarily for texts, low-resolution video calls, and select apps in locations that traditionally have no cellular service.
By comparison, Ookla data shows median 5G download speeds of approximately 309Mbps for T-Mobile and 172Mbps for AT&T in the United States, as noted in a PCMag report. While 150Mbps would still trail the fastest terrestrial 5G networks, it would place satellite-to-phone broadband much closer to conventional carrier performance, even in remote areas.
Pica indicated that the upgraded system would support “video, voice, and data services, clearly,” moving beyond emergency connectivity and basic messaging use cases.
To reach that target, SpaceX plans to upgrade its existing Starlink Direct-to-Cell satellites and add significant new capacity. The company recently acquired access to radio spectrum from EchoStar, which Pica described as key to expanding throughput.
“More spectrum means a bigger pipeline, and this means that we can expand what we can do with partners. We can expand the quality of service. And again, we can do cellular broadband basically, cellular broadband use cases, like AI or daily connectivity needs,” he stated.
SpaceX has also requested regulatory approval to deploy 15,000 additional Direct-to-Cell satellites, beyond the roughly 650 currently supporting the system. The upgraded architecture is expected to begin rolling out in late 2027.
News
Tesla seeks approval to test FSD Supervised in new Swedish city
Tesla has applied to conduct local Full Self-Driving (Supervised) testing in the city of Jönköping, Sweden.
Tesla has applied to conduct local Full Self-Driving (Supervised) testing in the city of Jönköping, Sweden.
As per local outlet Jönköpings-Posten, Tesla has contacted the municipality with a request to begin FSD (Supervised) tests in the city. The company has already received approval to test its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software in several Swedish municipalities, as well as on the national road network.
Sofia Bennerstål, Tesla’s Head of Public Policy for Northern Europe, confirmed that an application has been submitted for FSD’s potential tests in Jönköping.
“I can confirm that we have submitted an application, but I cannot say much more about it,” Bennerstål told the news outlet. She also stated that Tesla is “satisfied with the tests” in the region so far.
The planned tests in Jönköping would involve a limited number of Tesla-owned vehicles. Trained Tesla safety drivers would remain behind the wheel and be prepared to intervene if necessary.
Tesla previously began testing in Nacka municipality after receiving local approval. At the time, the company stated that cooperation between authorities, municipalities, and industry enables technological progress and helps integrate future transport systems into real-world traffic conditions, as noted in an Allt Om Elbil report.
If approved, Jönköping would become the latest Swedish municipality to allow local Full Self-Driving (Supervised) testing.
Tesla’s Swedish testing program is part of the company’s efforts to validate its supervised autonomous driving software in everyday traffic environments. Municipal approvals allow Tesla to gather data in urban settings that include roundabouts, complex intersections, and mixed traffic conditions.
Sweden has become an increasingly active testing ground for Tesla’s driver-assistance software in Europe, with regulatory coordination between local authorities and national agencies enabling structured pilot programs.