Elon Musk’s Boring Company Loop is still a thing in Las Vegas. Sold as something that would help people get around the Las Vegas Convention Center easier, the reality is way different. Aside from the issue of actually being silly as hell, it seems the Loop has other big problems: Dumb drivers and trespassers.
Through Freedom of Information Act requests, Fortune discovered that the Vegas Loop has had more than a few instances of people being where they’re not supposed to be within the tunnels. Records from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority show that in the last two years there have been 67 incidents involving trespassing, and since 2023 there have been 22 incidents involving unauthorized vehicles in the tunnels themselves.
For the unauthorized cars getting into the tunnels, the problem seems to be drivers who are confused, don’t pay attention to anything, or both.
Of the cars that slipped onto the property, all of them did so “inadvertently,” according to a convention and visitors authority spokesperson. Their drivers followed the Boring Company’s vehicles “believing they were accessing a ride-share pickup spot or entry to parking, and were immediately directed out.” Only one such incident “resulted in a tunnel intrusion,” the spokesperson said.
In defense of the Loop, there really isn’t a way for a driver to “inadvertently” get into the tunnel unless they were completely clueless. From my personal familiarity with the system, vehicles can only access the tunnels from above ground at two stations: the west station and the south station. The west station sits at a part of the convention center that can’t easily be accessed by outside vehicles, as it literally shares an area with a loading dock. A fence with a closing gate and signs that say “Authorized Vehicles Only” and “Do Not Enter” are posted.
It’s the same with the west station. While this station is easier to access from public streets, it’s still gated and there are the same signs as the other station. One would have to ignore all these, as well as numerous Loop attendants and Loop signage, to drive into the tunnel.
To help with this, Fortune says Boring Tunnel has installed license plate readers that close the gate if an unauthorized vehicle pate is scanned. Another problem has been people in the tunnels themselves. One incident involved a skateboarder getting inside the tunnel, forcing the system to shut down while the man was caught and taken out of the tunnel. Other incidents were more…unique.
In one case, two people were found sleeping in one of the tunnel stations located near one of the convention center parking lots. They were ultimately escorted off the property by Boring’s security. In another incident, a man tried to remove a license plate reader at one of Boring’s stations, and convention center security also escorted him off the property.
According to the records reviewed by Fortune, it doesn’t look as if The Boring Company reported any of the trespassers to local police; Las Vegas Police confirmed to Fortune that they weren’t aware of any trespassing incidents in the tunnels.
None of this seems as if it’ll stop anything, though. Las Vegas officials still seem to be convinced that the Loop is a viable public transportation alternative. Earlier this year, Las Vegas City and Clark County officials approved the sale of more land in the city so the company can expand its tunnels. If it gets built out, the entire system will be 68 miles of tunnels connecting everything from the Vegas Convention Center to the airport.
