Elon Musk’s Boring Co. has shared an update on its upcoming plans for the underground Vegas Loop transportation system, including the opening of new tunnels, increases in fleet, and the introduction of Tesla Robovans after the full station build-out is complete.
The company plans multiple increases in its Tesla vehicle fleet for Vegas Loop service, moving from 130 vehicles today to 160 when new tunnels open and scaling to between 250-300 vehicles later in the airport corridor expansion.
The fleet plan is tied to a four-phase effort connected to Harry Reid International Airport and to the full Vegas Loop buildout, planned at 68 miles of tunnels serving 104 stations around the Strip, downtown Las Vegas, and other destinations.
According to Boring Co. President Steve Davis, Phase 1 of the airport ride service began last month, allowing service between the airport and existing stations at Resorts World, Encore, Westgate, and the Las Vegas Convention Center.
This week, Boring Co. began picking up airport passengers after 100 of its 130-car fleet of Teslas were outfitted with transponders that the airport requires of transportation companies. “It’s just us testing the system,” Davis said. “We do 50 rides a day.”
Airport passengers travel through existing tunnels before completing the final portion above ground on surface streets. A 2.25-mile Airport Connector tunnel is targeted to open later this month or early next, though the route would still surface near the airport for about a 1-mile trip to terminals. Davis described an airport station as the long-term “Holy Grail,” with no firm timeline announced.
Phase 2 involves a 2.2-mile dual-direction tunnel from Westgate to a planned station at 4744 Paradise Road. From there, vehicles would travel above ground to the airport via Paradise Road and University Center Drive, removing 2 miles of above-ground travel required now. Davis said he expects this portion to be in operation in the next couple of months. He said the speed limit on the University Center Loop portion will be 60 mph, up from 35 mph in the convention center-area loop. The fleet is expected to rise to 160 vehicles when new tunnels open.
Phase 3 would extend the tunnel to a planned station at 5032 Palo Verde Road near Terminal 1, eliminating waiting at the stoplight at Tropicana Avenue and University Center Drive. Stations planned along the University Center loop include Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, a planned Boring Co.-owned apartment complex, and the former sites of Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant and Firefly on Paradise. The fleet would rise to between 250-300 Teslas.
Davis said the project requires over 600 building permits. He said Clark County approvals take about six months, and Boring Co. obtains a new permit every one to two weeks. He compared permitting to SpaceX’s FAA operator license process, saying SpaceX launched 150 times in 2025.
Davis said the first permit approval from the city of Las Vegas could occur next week, enabling work north of Sahara Avenue to the Strat, with future extension to Fremont Street and Circa’s Garage Mahal. Based on current permit timing, he estimated Strip work could start in the fall and finish in 2027, with downtown, Chinatown, Allegiant Stadium, and areas south of the Strip in 2028 or 2029.
Once the system is completed, Davis said the fleet could reach up to 1,200 vehicles, with the higher-capacity Tesla Robovan introduced for large events. “The second you have four (passengers), and you have to start stopping, the best thing you can do is put your smallest vehicle in, which is a car,” Davis said. Musk introduced Robovan at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event in Los Angeles in October 2024, saying, “We want to change the look of the roads. The future should look like the future.”
Davis said Boring Co. intends to pursue one-mile demo tunnels in Henderson and Summerlin after the buildout and expressed interest in a hyperloop to Reno and Phoenix: “I think it would be really cool.” Virgin Hyperloop One tested at a North Las Vegas site from 2017 until it ceased operations in 2023.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/01/13/117095-vegas-loop-to-undergo-extensive-expansion-with-new-tunnels-increased-tesla-fleet-capacity
