Looks Like Vegas Is Headed Toward A Full Blown Subway System

An underground transportation system is growing underneath Las Vegas. And it seriously seems like it’s a full-blown subway system in the making. It started under the Las Vegas Convention Center…

Updated May 5, 2023 9:22 AM PDT

AS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 09: A Tesla car drives through a tunnel in the Central Station during a media preview of the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop on April 9, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop is an underground transportation system that is the first commercial project by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company. The USD 52.5 million loop, which includes two one-way vehicle tunnels 40 feet beneath the ground and three passenger stations, will take convention attendees across the 200-acre convention campus for free in all-electric Tesla vehicles in under two minutes. To walk that distance can take upward of 25 minutes. The system is designed to carry 4,400 people per hour using a fleet of 62 vehicles at maximum capacity. It is scheduled to be fully operational in June when the facility plans to host its first large-scale convention since the COVID-19 shutdown. There are plans to expand the system throughout the resort corridor in the future. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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An underground transportation system is growing underneath Las Vegas. And it seriously seems like it's a full-blown subway system in the making.

It started under the Las Vegas Convention Center to make it easier for convention-goers to get from hall to hall. What would normally take patrons 25 minutes to walk became a 2-minute car ride. There were four stops underneath the convention center when the project began.

But then the tunnel grew to include a stop at Resorts World Las Vegas. So it was easier for those same convention guests to get to and from the popular lodging and entertainment destination. Now what is known as the Las Vegas Loop is going to grow even more.

I'm not sure if this is how the subway systems in places like New York or Chicago began. But it is a sure sign that Las Vegas is becoming even more metropolitan in a short amount of time.

The company behind this growing project is none other than that of Elon Musk.

The Las Vegas Loop was originally pitched in 2021 to include 34 miles of tunnel with stops primarily up and down the Las Vegas Strip. But that was before Musk's company, called The Boring Company, met with the Clark County Zoning Commission this week.

After the meeting, The Boring Company got the approval to expand the tunnel network to 65 miles with a total of 69 stations. Yesterday, the company tweeted their excitement about the expansion.

https://twitter.com/boringcompany/status/1653936706373189633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1653936706373189633%7Ctwgr%5E79eea9033b3565c4ecfcba8707eaad62985f263a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fgizmodo.com%2Fembed%2Finset%2Fiframe%3Fid%3Dtwitter-1653936706373189633autosize%3D1

The new system will expand beyond the Las Vegas Strip and Convention Center areas.

New stations will include Allegiant Stadium, Harry Reid Airport and UNLV. The northernmost stop in the current plans is Fremont Street Experience area and the southernmost station on The Strip is just south of the Mandalay Bay. Westernmost stations include The Orleans and Gold Coast casinos and UNLV is the furthest east that the current route goes.

Presently, there are 70 Teslas being utilized in the tunnels. And if this tunnel system isn't enough to convince us that this is turning into a subway system, the vehicles that now hold about three people are soon proposed to hold 12. And something tells me this is just the beginning.

Whether the tunnels remain paved roads for a Tesla car to navigate, or they get tracks added that can hold a Tesla train...dollars to donuts, Elon Musk is just getting started. And before you say "there's no such thing as a tesla train"...