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The Boring Company to connect Brightline to Fort Lauderdale Beach in 3 mins

(Credit: The Boring Company)

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The Boring Company’s (TBC) unsolicited proposal to Fort Lauderdale for a Las Olas Loop was recently made public, revealing some more details about the Miami tunnel project. 

The Boring Company submitted an unsolicited proposal for the Las Olas Loop in Fort Lauderdale on June 21, 2021, paying a $25,000 fee to the city. Full details of the proposal were kept confidential according to state law until recently, when confidentiality rules expired. 

As per The Next Miami (TNM), TBC proposed a tunnel system that would bring passengers from Fort Lauderdale to the beach in 3 minutes. Similar to the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop in Sin City, Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Loop will use Teslas to transport passengers through the system. The Tesla cars will be moving at an average speed of 50 miles per hour, as per the proposal. 

The Boring Company leaves room for expanding the Las Olas Loop in its proposal through Brightline stations, specifically one located in Fort Lauderdale at 101 NW 2nd Avenue. For the Las Olas Loop expansion, TBC proposed potential stations in the following locations: 

  • FLL Airport
  • The proposed Brightline Station next to FLL Airport
  • Port Everglades
  • The resorts area
  • Fort Lauderdale Tri-Rail station
  • The Galleria mall
  • Carter Park
  • DRV PNK Stadium

Las Olas, Downtown Fort Lauderdale, and Lauderdale Beach are within range of the Brightline station via bike or rideshare. The Fort Lauderdale Brightline station also provides passengers access to the Museum of Discovery and Science, The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, and NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. Brightline has lines in Miami and West-Palm-Beach as well, with plans to add an Orlando station soon. 

Credit: The Next Miami (TNM)

TBC offered to build the initial tunnel system of the Las Olas Loop at its own expense, guaranteeing a solid maximum price. The city can opt to repay the tunneling company in installments. Fort Lauderdale sent a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis requesting state funding for the Boring Company tunnel earlier this year. 

In the letter, Vice Mayor Heather Moraitis wrote that the city has welcomed an influx of new residents who decided to make Fort Lauderdale their new home after feeling the effects of the pandemic. She disclosed that the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) projects the city will add 845 residents daily until 2025. 

The city’s growth will likely sprout some challenges, including traffic congestion. Moraitis wrote that traditional solutions might not resolve future traffic challenges and sought support for Fort Lauderale’s TBC Las Olas Loop.

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“Building more bridges will congest our approximately 165 miles of intercoastal waterways, frustrate our marine industry and our commuters. While increasing rail options are a good thing, piling on top of current infrastructure doesn’t make long-term sense. Tunneling is that cost-effective and cutting-edge solution,” wrote Moraitis in the letter to Gov. DeSantis.

Last month, the Fort Lauderdale Commission voted to move toward the next step in The Boring Company project. The vote allows for more detailed negotiations with TBC about the Las Olas Loop. 

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving’s new version officially gets a wider rollout

So far, v14 has introduced a handful of new features and improvements, but the first versions needed refinement before Tesla made an effort to expand the population. It had issues with a brake stutter, but this has been mostly resolved.

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Credit: Tesla Europe and Middle East | X

Tesla’s newest Full Self-Driving version is officially rolling out wider to customers outside of the Early Access Program (EAP), in preparation for a total launch of the new v14 suite.

Over the past several weeks, Tesla has been working to refine its new v14 Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in an effort to have it ready for the entire fleet of vehicles in the United States. We are lucky enough to be in the EAP, so we’ve been able to test new features and rollouts first-hand.

So far, v14 has introduced a handful of new features and improvements, but the first versions needed refinement before Tesla made an effort to expand the population. It had issues with a brake stutter, but this has been mostly resolved.

Additionally, the rollout of the new Mad Max Speed Profile has gathered some attention.

Now that Tesla has started rolling out v14.1.3 yesterday to EAP members, the company ultimately decided that it was time to expand the software to more vehicles, as many owners are reporting that they’re receiving it:

Additionally, the suite has started to expand to Model S and Model X vehicles, so this rollout is not exclusive to Model 3 and Model Y:

The only issue with this rollout is that it still appears to be missing the Cybertruck, which Tesla was transparent about earlier this month. Although the company planned to release v14 to Cybertrucks by the end of the month, there has been no hint that this is going to happen.

This is already the third iteration of v14 in the past two weeks, indicating that Tesla is truly addressing the shortcomings of past versions and rolling out updates as quickly as possible.

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Tesla makes crazy move to spur short-term demand in the U.S.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has made a crazy move with its leasing terms in the United States to spur demand in the short term, as Q4 is moving along quickly.

The move is one that is pretty crazy in terms of the lease price, as one of the deals shows a drop of nearly one-quarter of the previous pricing. These deals are obviously being started to really drive demand over the next week and a half.

Tesla has offered new leasing terms on the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck, cutting lease prices by 23 percent for the Model 3, 15 percent for the Model Y, and 7 percent for the Cybertruck.

New prices on these leases are as follows:

  • Tesla Model 3: $329/mo, down from $429 — 23 percent discount
  • Tesla Model Y: $449/mo, down from $529 — 15 percent discount
  • Tesla Cybertruck: $699/mo, down from $749 — 7 percent discount

The lease terms are $3,000 down, a 36-month lease term, and 10,000 miles per year. Tesla is also showing $0 down lease prices automatically on its website.

For the Model 3, these same terms with $0 down would be $419. The Model Y with $0 down would be $543 a month, and the Cybertruck would be $851 a month.

These terms are also for the entry-level configurations of each vehicle, so for the Model 3, it’s the Model 3 Standard. The Model Y price is for the Model Y Standard, and the Cybertruck is the All-Wheel-Drive.

Tesla launches two new affordable models with ‘Standard’ Model 3, Y offerings

Tesla shows on their website that these lease deals are incredibly short-term and will adjust accordingly on November 1.

Why Tesla is launching these deals for ten days is not necessarily known, but it seems as if the company might be testing demand, as lease deals for the latter half of Q4 could be in the works.

Tesla traditionally launches some pretty tasty deals at the end of each quarter, but this move is somewhat interesting simply because it is not even remotely long-term.

It will be a good test to see if people are more incentivized to wait for these deals now that the $7,500 tax credit has been removed.

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Tesla Sweden faced with fresh strike from elevator company

Telecom and elevator service providers are the latest to join the widening labor blockade against the EV maker.

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Credit: NicklasNilsso14/X

Tesla’s operations in Sweden are facing fresh pressure as multiple unions intensify their long-running dispute against the electric vehicle maker. Industrial groups IF Metall and Seko have announced new blockades affecting elevator maintenance and telecom services, escalating their ongoing conflict with Tesla Sweden.

Work stoppages expand to elevator maintenance

Starting October 29, elevator manufacturer Cibes Kalea Sverige will halt all service and maintenance work at Tesla’s facilities under a full blockade ordered by IF Metall. The union’s move targets elevator service visits, which are typically required four times a year in Sweden. Cibes Kalea employs around 70 workers across six sites in Sweden and provides both passenger and freight elevator systems to clients, including Tesla, as noted in a report from Dagens Arbete.

The industrial action follows months of escalating measures from IF Metall, which has aimed to pressure Tesla into signing a collective bargaining agreement. Since early September, the union has initiated several blockades across Tesla’s Swedish network, including work stoppages involving suppliers like Holtab and Linde Material Handling.

This was despite Sweden’s Mediation Institute throwing in the towel at the unions and Tesla’s conflict. “We have tried in every possible way to get the parties to come closer to each other in a way that allows this conflict to end. But now we have come to the end of the road and have realized that it is just as good to end the case,” Director General Irene Wennemo said.

Telecom workers join expanding blockade

In a separate escalation, Seko, another major Swedish union, announced a strike targeting Tesla’s telecommunications infrastructure. “We are now putting a notice on the telecom area and this means that when it comes to networks, fiber or telephony, for example, we will not help where Tesla needs either service, maintenance or new installation of these parts,” Seko chair Gabriella Lavecchia told Sveriges Radio.

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Seko has already initiated blockades against Tesla’s postal service and charging stations. The union expects the telecom blockade to have even broader effects given Tesla’s reliance on connectivity for its charging and digital services. “There aren’t many companies in Sweden today that don’t need telephony, fiber, networks, and I would guess that Tesla needs it more than many others,” Lavecchia said.

With 12 strike notices issued in just a few weeks, the conflict shows no signs of easing as unions continue to coordinate pressure through multiple sectors.

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