Connect with us

News

The Boring Company’s Las Vegas transport tunnel meets skepticism from Monorail officials

(Image: The Boring Company)

Published

on

The Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnel project is no stranger to struggle, and it appears that trend continues even after the company won its current contract with the city. Las Vegas Monorail officials recently voiced concerns over the engineering safety in areas where the two systems will intersect underground and lobbied for more oversight of the Elon Musk-led venture. Despite Boring’s objections, the Winchester Town Board which oversees the new tunnel project agreed to require regular coordination between The Boring Company, the Monorail officials, and Las Vegas’s Public Works department.

“The proposed underground people mover system intersects our existing system route, and it appears the presented tunnel alignment interferes with our existing columns for the Las Vegas Monorail system and creates significant concern regarding both vertical and lateral loads,” Curtis Myles, CEO of the Las Vegas Monorail, claimed in a letter to Clark County planning officials in June.

“When you have columns that would be this close, you’re not just concerned about contact with the columns, you’re also concerned about vibration,” a lawyer representing the Monorail clarified later. “The record has to be absolutely clear, if there’s any damage at all to the columns, it will shut the Monorail down.”

The Las Vegas Monorail. | Image: David Shane via CC BY 2.0. No changes were made.
The Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnel station concept. | Image: The Boring Company

Jane Labanowski, The Boring Company’s government relations executive, objected to Myles’s concerns. “Noise and vibration [from tunneling] are imperceptible at the surface. We design our process to be deep enough underground such that a person walking [on the surface] creates more vibration than our tunnel-boring machine underground.”

The chairperson of the Winchester Town Board cited precautionary reasons for the new coordination requirements. “That way we all have a point of reference to go back to, just in case somebody forgets or doesn’t check in with other people…All of a sudden, someone gets to be a bad actor who doesn’t mean to be,” the chairperson is quoted as saying at the Board meeting where the recent decision was made. With construction plans finally approved, The Boring Company must now pursue permits to begin digging.

The board members of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LCVA) approved a $48.6 million contract with The Boring Company in May this year to build a transport tunnel under the the LCVA campus. The project will comprise one pedestrian tunnel and two vehicle tunnels connecting the campus’ New Exhibit Hall to the existing North/Central Hall. Construction is expected to be completed in time for the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and according to a contractor with oversight of the Boring project, public access will be limited to the tunnels during the CES event. “During CES it will be a little more difficult to have the public coming in and out than it would be for a [smaller] trade show,” the contractor said during the Board meeting.

Advertisement
-->

To transport Las Vegas tunnel passengers, The Boring Company plans to use modified Tesla Model X and Model 3 vehicles which will carry up to 16 passengers each with both sitting and standing room. The cars will have autonomous operation, although a human driver will also be present as a safety precaution. Boring has estimated the system will be capable of transporting up to 4,400 passengers per hour.

This latest regulatory hurdle is only the latest that The Boring Company has encountered while pursuing the Las Vegas tunnel project. Earlier this year, LCVA board members Michele Fiore and Carolyn Goodman argued against the Boring Company’s project proposal, citing the startup’s inexperience and suggesting that the proposal from Austria-based Doppelmayr Garaventa Group be embraced instead. Doppelmayr’s proposal involved an above-ground transit system that would cost around $215 million to complete.

Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

Advertisement
Comments

Cybertruck

Tesla Cybertruck undergoes interior mod that many owners wanted

Published

on

tesla cybertruck diy bench seat
Credit: @blueskykites | X

Tesla Cybertruck is significantly different from traditional pickups on the market in a lot of ways. However, one feature that was recently modified with its interior was a highly requested characteristic that is present in other trucks, but was void from Cybertruck.

Tesla went with a five-seat configuration with Cybertruck: two in the front and three in the back. The spacious interior is matched with plenty of storage, especially up front, as a pass-through, center console, and other storage options, but some Tesla fans wanted something different: bench seating.

Bench seating is popular in many full-size pickups and allows three passengers to sit up front. The middle seat is usually accompanied by a fold-down storage unit with cupholders.

Tesla decided to opt for no bench seating up front, despite the fact that it equipped bench seating in the unveiling in 2019. Interior photos from the unveiling event from nearly six-and-a-half years ago show Tesla had originally planned to have a six-seat configuration.

This was adjusted after the company refined the design:

Advertisement
-->
tesla cybertruck initial interior

(Tesla Cybertruck interior configuration in 2019)

Despite Tesla abandoning this design, it does not mean owners were willing to accept it. One owner decided to modify their Tesla Cybertruck interior to equip that third seat between the driver’s and passenger’s thrones.

The fit is snug, and while it looks great, it is important to remember that this does not abide byregulations, as it would require an airbag to be technically legal. Please do not do this at home with your own Cybertruck:

The Cybertruck is a popular vehicle in terms of publicity, but its sales have been underwhelming since first delivered to customers back in 2023. It’s hard to believe it’s been out for two-and-a-half years, but despite this, Tesla has not been able to come through on its extensive order sheet.

This is mostly due to price, as Cybertruck was simply not as affordable as Tesla originally planned. Its three configurations were initially priced at $39,990, $49,990, and $69,990. At release, Cybertruck was priced above $100,000.

This priced out many of those who had placed orders, which is the main reason Cybertruck has not lived up to its expectations in terms of sales. The adjustments to the specific features, like the removal of the bench seat, likely did not impact sales as much as pricing did.

This modification shows some creativity by Tesla owners, but also shows that the Cybertruck could always be the subject of a potential refresh to include some of these features. Tesla routinely adjusts its vehicle designs every few years, so maybe the Cybertruck could get something like this if it chooses to refresh its all-electric pickup.

Advertisement
-->

 

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk drops massive bomb about Cybercab

“And there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface,” Musk said.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk dropped a massive bomb about the Cybercab, which is the company’s fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicle that will enter production later this year.

The Cybercab was unveiled back in October 2024 at the company’s “We, Robot” event in Los Angeles, and is among the major catalysts for the company’s growth in the coming years. It is expected to push Tesla into a major growth phase, especially as the automaker is transitioning into more of an AI and Robotics company than anything else.

The Cybercab will enable completely autonomous ride-hailing for Tesla, and although its other vehicles will also be capable of this technology, the Cybercab is slightly different. It will have no steering wheel or pedals, and will allow two occupants to travel from Point A to Point B with zero responsibilities within the car.

Tesla shares epic 2025 recap video, confirms start of Cybercab production

Details on the Cybercab are pretty face value at this point: we know Tesla is enabling 1-2 passengers to ride in it at a time, and this strategy was based on statistics that show most ride-hailing trips have no more than two occupants. It will also have in-vehicle entertainment options accessible from the center touchscreen.

Advertisement
-->

It will also have wireless charging capabilities, which were displayed at “We, Robot,” and there could be more features that will be highly beneficial to riders, offering a full-fledged autonomous experience.

Musk dropped a big hint that there is much more to the Cybercab than what we know, as a post on X said that “there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface.”

As the Cybercab is expected to enter production later this year, Tesla is surely going to include a handful of things they have not yet revealed to the public.

Advertisement
-->

Musk seems to be indicating that some of the features will make it even more groundbreaking, and the idea is to enable a truly autonomous experience from start to finish for riders. Everything from climate control to emergency systems, and more, should be included with the car.

It seems more likely than not that Tesla will make the Cybercab its smartest vehicle so far, as if its current lineup is not already extremely intelligent, user-friendly, and intuitive.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla Q4 delivery numbers are better than they initially look: analyst

The Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner shared his thoughts in a post on his website.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Longtime Tesla analyst and Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster has shared his insights on Tesla’s Q4 2025 deliveries. As per the analyst, Tesla’s numbers are actually better than they first appear. 

Munster shared his thoughts in a post on his website. 

Normalized December Deliveries

Munster noted that Tesla delivered 418k vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2025, slightly below Street expectations of 420k but above the whisper number of 415k. Tesla’s reported 16% year-over-year decline, compared to +7% in September, is largely distorted by the timing of the tax credit expiration, which pulled forward demand.

“Taking a step back, we believe September deliveries pulled forward approximately 55k units that would have otherwise occurred in December or March. For simplicity, we assume the entire pull-forward impacted the December quarter. Under this assumption, September growth would have been down ~5% absent the 55k pull-forward, a Deepwater estimate tied to the credit’s expiration.

For December deliveries to have declined ~5% year over year would imply total deliveries of roughly 470k. Subtracting the 55k units pulled into September results in an implied December delivery figure of approximately 415k. The reported 418k suggests that, when normalizing for the tax credit timing, quarter-over-quarter growth has been consistently down ~5%. Importantly, this ~5% decline represents an improvement from the ~13% declines seen in both the March and June 2025 quarters.

Advertisement
-->

Tesla’s United States market share

Munster also estimated that Q4 as a whole might very well show a notable improvement in Tesla’s market share in the United States. 

“Over the past couple of years, based on data from Cox Automotive, Tesla has been losing U.S. EV market share, declining to just under 50%. Based on data for October and November, Cox estimates that total U.S. EV sales were down approximately 35%, compared to Tesla’s just reported down 16% for the full quarter.  For the first two months of the quarter, Cox reported Tesla market share of roughly a 65% share, up from under 50% in the September quarter.

“While this data excludes December, the quarter as a whole is likely to show a material improvement in Tesla’s U.S. EV market share.

Continue Reading