Perhaps you’ve heard about the Las Vegas Loop, an invention of Elon Musk’s THE Boring Company, currently connecting the three main halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) with Teslas as the vehicles of choice. Today’s video gives you a first-hand look at the LVCC Loop, looking at how the tunnel system operates, asking whether it’s useful, and looking at future plans.
What this video does NOT include — which you might’ve seen in viral videos around the time of the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show — is a Vegas Loop traffic jam. In fact, what your intrepid videographer uncovered was exactly the opposite: either a little-used system on what should have been a busy convention day (the National Automobile Dealer’s Association), or a system that was simply shut down for the day.
We’ll look at long-range plans for a 51-station network of Tesla tunnels centered around the Las Vegas Strip, and we’ll investigate the next phase of Las Vegas Loop: a one-way tunnel from the Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall to the new Resorts World casino hotel, a quarter of a mile away on the Strip.
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Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
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Other recommended (and often hilarious) videos on the LVCC Loop:
– “The VEGAS LOOP: Just As Stupid As You Think” @Adam Something https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvK2i9Jxy5c&t=320s
– “DEBUNKING THE VEGAS LOOP” @Common Sense Skeptic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RPMt_FS-s8
– “Elon Musk’s Las Vegas Loop could have been great” @Engadget https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-SC2vtulvQ
– “First Look & Ride Inside Las Vegas Convention Center Loop” from Las Vegas Sun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUoZCUqbCNg&t=192s
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Other CityNerd Videos referenced:
– Las Vegas trams and monorails: https://youtu.be/u5lqV7y2KXw
– The Exclusive Bus Lane, the Lincoln Tunnel, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal: https://youtu.be/SEme-kqbJFw
– Busiest Bridges and Tunnels in the US: https://youtu.be/HbZXtSnabWc
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Resources:
– https://tunnelingonline.com/lvcva-board-approves-boring-company-proposal-for-las-vegas-convention-center/
– https://singularityhub.com/2020/02/20/elon-musks-boring-company-finishes-first-tunnel-for-155mph-vegas-loop/
– https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/16/elon-musks-las-vegas-loop-might-only-carry-a-fraction-of-the-passengers-it-promised/
– https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#55694d433d78
– https://www.fox5vegas.com/2022/04/28/whats-holdup-vegas-loop-station-debut-resorts-world-fox5-works-find-answers/
– http://clarkcounty-nv.elaws.us/code/coor_title22_ch22.16
– https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/detail?code=130
– https://files.clarkcountynv.gov/clarknv/Doing%20Business/Franchisees%20&%20Licensees/The%20Boring%20Company%20Franchise%20Agreement%202021%20-%20Signed1.pdf
– https://www.boringcompany.com/resorts-world
– https://www.wired.com/story/uber-gives-up-self-driving-dream/
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Image Credits:
– Video credit – “First Look & Ride Inside Las Vegas Convention Center Loop” from Las Vegas Sun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUoZCUqbCNg&t=192s
– New Beetle (green) Image by djedj from Pixabay
– New Beetle (red) Image by Emilian Robert Vicol from Pixabay
– Dirty new beetle By Thomas doerfer – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3276989
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Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
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Contact: [email protected]
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Am guessing this is mostly intended as a marketing project for Tesla and not a real intention to move people.
2:48 -> your battery is running low. XDXD
What a joke. Pure vaporware. Elon is a fraud.
What really bothers me about these tunnels is not that they're so small, and that they just decided to run Teslas through them, it's that they're incredibly unsafe. If anything happens in the tunnel, you can't get out. There's no fire suppression system and no emergency access.
Holy crap the Las Vegas loop is staggeringly embarassing
Not saying that billionaires name really made me like this channel. Showing a little thumbnail of his face for a couple seconds is acceptable. Subbed!
Trains fetichists are so stupid. Do you really think Las Vegas needs a NY-style subway ?
From Vegas POV though, get Boring company to build you a tunnel, get a tourist attraction for a few years, then when it proves unprofitable buy the tunnels at a discount and retrofit with effective public transit. Seems like a win to me, if that's the path they follow.
It took me till halfway to realize you had a tone of sarcasm. Love it though. Your channel is incredibly informative and enjoyable
elon is a hack job
I've just watched a couple of videos of yours and I really like them…and I do like the sarcasm of this one too!! However, why not even TRYING to identify the advantages of such system, like minimal wait time (ok, that's the only one I could identify as of now actually…). I agree many of other metrics look terrible (flow like you point out, but also CAPEX/mile, no? any data on this?). I do believe that they'll manage to make it full automated one day, so OPEX should go lower, but not necessarily lower than a automated monorail. Overall I agree it's hard not to see the total BS, though. Anyway, keep producing good content!!
😮 I disagree majorly. How many people does this private tunnel of the wealthy transport, compared with say a subway through the same length of tunnel? And how equitable is its access? Are we to just let Elon Musk decide our city designs? You've been duped by a glitzy sales pitch to line the pockets of a billionnaire.
This truly is innovative. It manages to bring together transit advocates and car lovers, by disappointing both of them. It has none of the freedom or ownership that comes with a car – or even the flexibility of a taxi. Meanwhile it has none of the resource efficiency, throughput, or convenience of public transit. Truly, it is the worst of both worlds – a special kind of awful.
one question, what happens if a vehicle in the loop breaks down?
It's a Vegas gimmick and nothing more. It can only work at vegas in the same way that I can see the statue of liberty, roman architecture, and giant observation towers in the worst nevada valley.
I'm definitely going to get a lot of hate for this but I actually believe the boring company is a game changer. Here's a few simplified reasons why I believe so:
1. Reduced cost
Yes the capacity is also significantly reduced, but when you look at a cost per mile of tunneling of 10 million for the Boring Company and 600 million for a subway, well that's a massive difference. Additionally, not everywhere needs a huge capacity. Some locations don't need to transport 20k people per hour. For some locations 2k per hour would be ok.
2. Future improvements
Yes right now the cars are driven by people but this WILL change. Soon, these vehicles will be completely autonomous. Also, a larger people mover type vehicle could be implemented. Something with seats along the side and standing room in the middle that can carry 10-12 at a time.
3. Flexibility
Because of the reduced cost per mile of tunnel and low capacity, this system is extremely flexible. Need to transport 20k people per hour, have 10 tunnels. Need 40k per hour, ha e 40 tunnels. Need 4k, have 2 tunnels. The tunnels can also be used for other things besides transporting people such as transporting freight. It's very flexible.
4. Better experience
Because this is a direct system where passengers don't need to stop at each stop and can instead go directly where they need to, the travel times are reduced, especially in a larger system. Additionally, people don't need to worry about having to wait for the next train or tram to arrive, instead there is always at least one vehicle ready to go. And while having some vehicles does lower capacity, it does increase comfort. Not having to share a large space with 50 other strangers is very appealing to many.
Overall I think you are missing some of the key parts of this system that could potentially make it great. Right now it is not that great, but you can see how a few more improvements could make this into a great system. Also I believe they ran an actual test with people from the public and achieved the quoted 4,400 people per hour.
In another instance of his dessicated humor, Delahanty denies possession of journalism skills.
Let them go bankrupt, and the municipality has free engineered ROW for a real rail system.
I came for the informative videos but stayed for the snark. Bravo.
"I'm old and I like trains. I don't care about what the system will look like eventually or that the vast majority of drivers and nearly all women will NEVER USE high capacity rail unless they have no other choice. Give me some light rail at grade that completely screws a city for 21st century transit."
Idiot.
The loop is another gadget transportation "solution." The real solution with way less cost would have been a driverless train. Driverless metros and airport movers are the future. They have low costs and can transport thousands per hours.
I do like the idea of many-entry many-exit point to point systems where you can bypass the stops. Elevators in large buildings work this way, you say 5 people to X floor and it tells you what elevator to get into. But for that to work it does have to be able to be low speed autonomous above ground, at least in parking lots and things that and be fast and autonomous below ground. If you can do that with a relatively cheap 8 person battery electric bus and cheap tunneling then you got something that is potentially useful.
Great video, please do more like theses.
So many fools seem to Sworship Elon Musk, but it doesn't take a close look to se ethat he is only doing whatever he can to maximize HIS personal Return on OTHERS investments. He's a conman.
Musk is only good for 1 thing:
If you ever do a video about something he's promised/done, make sure to include "Tesla" and "Elon Musk" in the title and description to multiply your views
complete waste of Money
I had 2 interviews with them and drove one through the tunnel last summer, didnt get the job. But fun fact, all the assitance features are disabled and not allowed to be used.
The Boring Company's main goal is to drastically lower the cost and increase the speed of tunneling, it's a really tough challenge and they're a long ways from achieving that goal. If they do manage to accomplish that goal then it will be just as beneficial for subways, underground light rail and other infrastructure as for Tesla tunnels.
I do think that Tesla plans an autonomous pod that may carry 12 or so people, similar to the self-driving pods seen in Westworld. Las Vegas was essentially just a way for The Boring Co do R&D on someone else's dime, I personally don't think it's productive for them to get so far ahead of themselves so publicly because what they built looks silly in the present.
i mostly watch for this guys personality
At the zoo in my city, they have a little choochoo train, for the kids to ride. It would be a better solution than tesla tunnels.
You missed the most brilliant part of the design, to get into a car at the two ends you actually have to cross the lane of traffic. It's not even grade separated from the people that have to use it.
As a Vegas resident, are there any local activist groups that are working on better uses of city resources?
Having piloted Tesla that are low capacity and difficult entry/exit never seemed to make any sense at all to me. So I watched this video to see the direction of the system and how it might make a little bit of sense. After watching the video it makes even less sense than before. Do you think autonomous high capacity vans might increase the utility of this system someday?
Only thing worse than Musk is his insufferable Muskrats
Total flop
This is the start of a genius, revolutionary idea. We just need to make the cars into larger pods to carry more people, with seats and room to stand. We can attach a bunch of them together to carry even more people. Let's replace rubber tires with steel wheels on steel tracks, less resistance so less energy needes to move them. We can add platform boarding. I suggest trying it out in New York. I even thought of a name: Subterranean Underground Bypass for Wagons Accelerating You, we can call it SUBWAY for short.
Genius.
It’s not just that it’s normal traffic, it’s stop-and-go wait for tunnel to completely empty before car goes other way traffic. Like the stop and go factor is preposterous. But yeah as a mechanical engineer I would like to point out that it’s fairly easy to make a robot that can autonomously drive along a painted line. I mean even easier if it doesn’t have to recognize a painted line and can just use “pass from point D to E at this speed while accelerating that much unless emergency stop flag is active”
Lmao at that reaction to the Loop being closed. Intentional or not that was perfect comedic setup and timing, and I don't think I've ever heard you curse
Still not as stupid as the Hyperloop.
Wait, they have hired drivers for each car?
The most brilliant mind of our generation just uninvented metro. Genius
This video was sooooo good! I’ve been a subscriber for almost a year now and your videos never disappoint! Keep up the great work buddy!
Cheers from St. Louis, MO