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Tesla Cybertruck rides are crucial for Vegas Loop expansion to airport
The Tesla Cybertruck is set to play a critical role in the expansion of the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop, Steve Hill, President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said.
The Vegas Loop is the Boring Company’s underground public transportation solution in Las Vegas, connecting various hot spots around The Strip and offering express rides to visitors and residents for an affordable price.
All the rides are in Tesla vehicles that operate in the loop exclusively and, evenutally, autonomously. But as the Loop continues to expand, more Tesla vehicles, apart from the Model 3 and Model Y that are currently mainstays in the operation, will begin to see an expanded role.
Enter the Tesla Cybertruck.
As The Loop will eventually have a stop at the Harry Reid International Airport, formerly known as McCarran International Airport, there is one thing that comes to mind: luggage. With groups of a few people, the Model 3 and Model Y might not be large enough to accommodate the number of bags that visitors could bring.
Hill believes this is where the Cybertruck could be the answer (via Las Vegas Review-Journal):
“As we look at going to the airport dealing with luggage matters. Cybertrucks are huge inside. They’ve got a great bed, with basically a shutter, that closes over the bed of the truck. So it makes it really easy for families and groups that are traveling together. But because that Cybertruck is available, it just expands the options and makes it much more convenient for those who need that luggage space.”
The Cybertruck is where the airport solution that the Vegas Loop offers becomes a true possibility. The size alone is more ideal for larger groups that will bring bags for an extended trip. While packing bags and splitting vehicles is also an option, some groups may want to stay together, and if the Vegas Loop would only offer separate vehicles, some may opt for Uber or other ride-sharing options.
Cybertruck Size Concerns
The Cybertruck is already a large vehicle, and there is definitely a concern as to whether the Boring Company tunnels would be ideal for the pickup.
CEO Elon Musk even took it through the tunnel on an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, where he said, “It will be quite interesting to see if we can actually fit it down there.”
It fit, but it was a tight squeeze.
Leno then commented on the ride later during his appearance on Spike Feresten’s podcast.
Musk noted the tunnel that runs under Los Angeles, to which Leno asked if the Cybertruck could go in. Musk said, “Hey, I’ve got an idea. You want to see if we can drive the Cybertruck in the tunnel? I don’t know if it’s going to fit.”
Tesla Cybertruck seen driving in Boring Company’s Las Vegas loop
Leno then said on the podcast:
“We drive the Cybertruck, we barely get it into the tunnel, and now we’re going like 50 or 60 miles per hour through the tunnel with a quarter-inch on each side.”
It is not quite as extreme now. The Cybertruck made its way into the Boring Company tunnel in Las Vegas in January, and it seems to be a much better fit, thanks to its refined dimensions.
Cybertruck sighting in the Vegas Loop ? @boringcompany @cybertruck pic.twitter.com/My5FTYlO4p
— Las Vegas (@Vegas) January 9, 2024
Hill said he is not sure when the Cybertruck would make its way into the Vegas Loop as an operational vehicle, especially considering the airport stop has not been added to the current Loop.
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For years, there have been images and videos across social media platforms that have reminded me of when I was a 15-year-old kid teased by “Xbox 720” videos on YouTube. These videos are of the supposed “Tesla Phone” that Elon Musk was secretly developing in between leading Tesla with its electric cars and SpaceX with its reusable rockets.
Would you buy a Tesla phone ? pic.twitter.com/aaTwvvIJit
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 6, 2023
Although Musk has put those rumors to bed several times, it was never completely out of the realm that he could get involved in cell phones in some capacity. Think outside the box and more macro-level, though. Instead of reinventing the computer, Musk reinvented connectivity by developing Starlink with SpaceX.
It could be something similar, TD Cowen analyst Gregory Williams said in a note last week, where he hinted SpaceX could be gathering some steam to acquire T-Mobile.
Williams said it would be the “clear choice” for SpaceX if it decided to go through with a network acquisition. He also suggested AT&T.
The move would be possible through selling more of its own stock, which would help SpaceX raise the money to purchase T-Mobile, which would cost roughly $300 billion. It could be one of the moves SpaceX makes post-IPO in terms of an acquisition: it already acquired Cursor AI for $60 billion.
Other analysts, like Dan Ives of Wedbush, believe SpaceX and Tesla will eventually merge into one anyway, and that conglomeration could come as soon as this year, some have said.
The implications of SpaceX purchasing T-Mobile are massive. A combined entity would create a truly ubiquitous network: T-Mobile’s terrestrial 5G towers and Starlink’s growing constellation of Direct-to-Cell satellites. This would essentially eliminate dead zones across the U.S. and potentially globally.
SpaceX would instantly become a full-scale facilities-based carrier with satellite differentiation; a huge advantage. This would pressure AT&T and Verizon heavily.
There are also concerns like a potential reduction in long-term competition, and of course, a deal of that size would face intense scrutiny from government agencies.
The strategic fit is compelling due to the existing Starlink–T-Mobile partnership and complementary technologies (space + terrestrial). It could create a dominant integrated communications player. However, the regulatory, financial, and execution hurdles are enormous — this remains highly speculative with no indication SpaceX is actively pursuing it right now.
Tesla revealed a major new Cybercab detail in a guide it released for First Responders, showing new territory in its beliefs and intentions for the ride-hailing-focused vehicle that entered production in April.
The First Responders Guide is released to give fire departments, paramedics, and other emergency personnel the proper guidance on what to do in the event of an accident, entrapment, or other situation that would require immediate attention.
On one of the pages of the First Responders Guide, Tesla revealed a stark detail about the Cybercab, which could help personnel enter the vehicle more easily in case of an emergency.
Tesla Cybercab has one important piece that AI4 cars might need for FSD
It shows Tesla has no intention of releasing any Cybercab units that were initially proposed for ride-hailing services for the general public with any manual controls, meaning a steering wheel or pedals:
“A Cybercab equipped with steering wheel, brake pedal, and an acceleration pedal is typically an engineering or test vehicle, and operates at SAE Level 2 autonomy. Cybercab is not typically equipped with a steering wheel or acceleration and brake pedals.”
New official Cybercab documentation from Tesla:
“A Cybercab equipped with steering wheel, brake pedal, and an acceleration pedal is typically an engineering or test vehicle, and operates at SAE Level 2 autonomy. Cybercab is not typically equipped with a steering wheel or… https://t.co/P6ut1mZyzr pic.twitter.com/yq6skl9s2J
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 27, 2026
This is a major development for those who continue to believe Tesla planned to release the Cybercab with any sort of manual controls so that passengers could take over if needed. However, when Tesla started manufacturing production versions of the Cybercab in Giga Texas earlier this year, they were spotted without a steering wheel or pedals.
It essentially confirms the company has no intentions of bringing manual controls to the car’s production versions. Some have argued that the likelihood of Tesla having something
There still are some Cybercab units out there with a steering wheel and pedals, and as Tesla said, these cars are engineering or test vehicles, which have Safety Monitors on board to help the car out of a precarious situation or emergency.
Tesla released the Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ suite to owners of Hardware 3 or AI3 vehicles today, adding several new features to the vehicles that were once believed to be capable of unsupervised self-driving.
Now, Tesla has released this modified suite to older Tesla vehicles, adding plenty of new features and capabilities.
Here are the full release notes for the suite:
- Distilled the intelligence from HW4 V14 into HW3. This allows HW3 to directly learn how to handle scenarios using HW4 V14 as a guide. This process unlocks the improvements that have been made to HW4 including Reinforcement Learning (RL) and offline models for HW3.
- Improved both proactive and reactive responsiveness across a wide variety of categories including navigation handling, merges and forks, pedestrian interactions, traffic lights, and vehicle cut-in scenarios.
- Improved general comfort in nominal scenarios through fewer false slowdowns, smoother steering and more consistent lane centering.
- Introduced parking, unparking, and reversing capabilities.
- Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, or at the Curbside.
- Speed Profiles are now available at all times, to further customize driving style preference.
These improvements, according to Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, help distill the driving behavior from AI4’s v14 series into both the camera and compute configurations of AI3.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ for older cars finally gets released
He added:
“It includes destination options and speed profiles on city roads, but more importantly significantly improved safety. We hope you’ll enjoy it, once the build ships wide.”
FSD v14 Lite is now rolling out to AI3 early-access customers. Based on the feedback, will rollout to more customers over the next few weeks.
This build distills the driving behavior from AI4’s v14 series into both the camera and compute config of AI3. It includes destination…
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) June 29, 2026
Tesla will continue to roll out the v14 Lite suite more widely in the coming weeks, the company said.
Tesla Phone? Not quite, but close: analyst
Tesla reveals huge Cybercab detail in new guide for First Responders
