Question of the Day - 18 May 2021

Elon Musk’s Boring Co. has produced what will undoubtedly become known as “the boring tunnel,” pun fully intended.

“Underwhelming at best” was the verdict of Engadget Senior Editor Daniel Cooper in the YouTube video referenced by the question submitter, which you can see here. 

What Musk promised were automated, 12-passenger, high-speed vehicles zipping along underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center. What he delivered was a glorified ride-share service. Drivers pull up in Tesla Model 3s to pick up three passengers at a time (the cars seat five, including the driver, but COVID protocols limit them to three passengers) and traverse the length of the Convention Center at a stately 35 miles per hour.

To receive a full payout from the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, based on the contract, Musk needs to deliver 4,400 people an hour. It certainly doesn't look that will happen anytime soon.

Though mainstream coverage was mostly breathless with praise when the media was finally allowed to see the Loop in mid-April, feedback from the Internet was quick and negative.

“It’s just some Tesla Model 3s driving slowly in a tube,” groused one critic. “It’s about as exciting as a sheet of unpainted drywall discarded in a closed office park.”

Said another, “The tunneling remains the most impressive thing about the project. However, the rest of the process seems to boil down to a ride in a Model 3.”

“Slow cars under flashy lights,” was yet another unimpressed response, referring to the colored lights that flash continuously in the tunnels, simulating a thrill ride and prompting the nickname "Rainbow Road."

So far, there are 11 vehicles, though that could go up to 60 that seat 16 eventually. No timetable has been announced for the vehicles to be certified as driverless, nor have loading procedures or wait times for rides been released. The Loop is expected to be operational for the World of Concrete trade show in early June, so we don't have long to wait to find out the details.

Putting the only possible spin on the underwhelmed public, Musk said the planned system had been “simplified.” He tweeted, "It’s basically just Teslas in tunnels at this point, which is way more profound than it sounds.”

Actually, we’d say he got it just about right. 

For the moment, Musk seems focused on bigger, if not better, things, such as his proposed Hyperloop, which would theoretically connect Washington, D.C., and New York City via “passenger capsules on Tesla-built chassis hurtling through low-pressure tubes at high speeds.”

Fine, but If Vegas is meant to be an audition, it’s not a particularly auspicious one, at least not so far.