News
LV officials hope Boring Company’s Vegas Loop is operational by Super Bowl LVIII
Las Vegas officials are hoping that The Boring Company’s Vegas Loop will already be operational by Super Bowl LVIII. The high-profile sporting event is scheduled to be held at the Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024.
Steve Hill, President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, previously mentioned his goal of having the Vegas Loop operational by Super Bowl LVIII. And amidst the expansion of the underground transport system today, Hill continues to hold out hope that the dream may still come true.
“I think it’s still a possibility. We are working to try and make that happen,” Hill said, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The Boring Company’s sprawling 34-mile Vegas Loop is expected to have at least 55 stations, including ones at Allegiant Stadium, Harry Reid International Airport, UNLV, several Las Vegas Strip resorts, as well as key locations in downtown Las Vegas. A fleet of Teslas is expected to be used to transport commuters along the underground tunnel system.
The Boring Company President Steve Davis stated this year that he is hoping to have work on the Vegas Loop start sometime in 2023. Following this, he expects about five to ten new Loop stations to go online within the first six months of construction and 15-20 stations to be added each year until the system reaches completion.
The Boring Company Vegas Loop will be built in phases, though various parts of the system will be connected later. So far, Las Vegas has been a great testing ground for The Boring Company’s technology, with the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop already in operation since April 2021. A new station at Resorts World started operations earlier this year, and another station is being planned at the Westgate. The Resorts World and Westgate stations are expected to be part of the larger Vegas Loop.
“We’re very close to getting a permit to start the Westgate [tunnel]. From a construction standpoint, we’ve got to work with shows to make sure we’re not interfering with what they have,” Hill said, though he also suggested that the Westgate tunnel should start construction after CES this coming January 2023.
Overall, it’s no surprise that Las Vegas officials are looking to have the Vegas Loop operational by Super Bowl LVIII. With tens of thousands of visitors expected throughout the week leading up to the big game, Super Bowl LVIII is expected to be one of most financially successful weekends in Las Vegas history. Super Bowl LVIII is predicted to have a $500 million economic impact, create thousands of jobs, and open doors for small and minority-owned businesses.
“There’s no event that has the spotlight on it like the Super Bowl does. That means there’s not going to be an event that brings more attention to Las Vegas. It is our biggest opportunity to show what we can do,” Hill said.
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Energy
Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup
Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
News
Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again
Elon Musk continues to tease the unveiling event for the Tesla Roadster, a continuing trend that has grown into a bigger game of “When” for fans who have been waiting years for the car to finally enter production.
A video shared on X of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that Musk appeared on last year, teasing the Roadster unveiling, was shared once again on the social media platform. The poster said the Roadster event will be “unforgettable.”
Musk agreed:
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2026
The timing is interesting because just yesterday, Musk said that we will be getting flying cars, and for years, Tesla has hinted that it could develop a SpaceX cold gas thruster package that would help the car float or fly for a short period of time.
It would be reasonable to assume Tesla’s major delays with this unveiling event are likely caused by the company’s need to break the rules and push the envelope on nearly everything. Last July, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, said:
“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind blowing. We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on and he got a little excited.”
The latest updates that Tesla has given us are that the Roadster is in design development, and it did have several potential dates for an unveiling event this year, including April. It was then pushed to August.
However, there are no clues as to when Tesla will be ready, and fans are certainly getting frustrated with the delays.
For what it is worth, Franz von Holzhausen told Jay Leno this week that the event would be “very soon.”
We sure hope.
Lifestyle
Tesla’s driverless Cybercab just passed a big test with State Governor
Florida’s governor rode Tesla’s Cybercab at a closed test track and called the experience impressive.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rode in a Tesla Cybercab on a closed test track this week and came away impressed, posting on X that the vehicle “successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.” He called the ride “impressive.”
The stop was part of a broader event Monday at SunTrax, a 775 acre state owned proving ground in Auburndale that Florida built specifically to test autonomous and connected vehicles before they reach public roads. Standing next to a gold Cybercab, DeSantis described the car in plain terms: “You go in there and you just sit. You have a screen. There’s no steering wheel, no pedals. Clearly these things could be very beneficial.”
We took a ride on a robotaxi on the Suntrax course and it successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.
Impressive! https://t.co/FVAkzFLz3r
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 11, 2026
DeSantis paired the praise with a caveat that has followed autonomous vehicles since the category existed. “You don’t want to be in an autonomous vehicle and it drives you into a ditch. That would not be good,” he said, framing safety validation as the gate before wider deployment.
SunTrax, the 2.25 mile oval which the state calls the only high speed autonomous vehicle test track in the Southeast, can simulate rain, pedestrian crossings, hills and crowded urban conditions at highway speeds, letting companies push a car past what an early public rollout would risk. Tesla, Waymo and Beep all use the facility, and Florida’s regulatory approach, among the most permissive for autonomous vehicles in the country, doesn’t require a human operator inside a fully autonomous car.
Tesla has reason to want the blessing of Florida and states beyond, as the Cybercab entered volume production at Gigafactory Texas this spring and has since self certified as SAE Level 4 under Texas law. Public road testing so far has kept a safety monitor in the passenger seat, and Florida is where Tesla has been expanding its existing Model Y based Robotaxi service instead, adding Miami in July and then Orlando and Tampa two weeks later. A closed track endorsement from a sitting governor doesn’t change any of that, but it does put Tesla’s newest hardware in front of a state that has already shown it will move fast on rules.
