Taking a Ride in the Vegas Loop (Tesla Tunnel) 

Not there yet anyway!

Thanks for the comment Eamon. I totally missed it the 1st 2 days I was there! Just happened to see an advert on a video wall in the convention center.

Thanks for the comment!

Thanks for the comment Des. It's pretty cool isn't it. Driverless car, shuttles, buses, trains is all coming down the line hopefully. Especially in closed loop systems like this

Dublin airport to city-centre and NI > Scotland would be nice too. :) Rosslare to France is probably a bit of a stretch still and wouild like take a very long time. Worth it in the long run though.

😂😂😂😂 frantically trying to come up with a smart reply.

@@NevoEVReviewIreland A simple chuckle is all I require...

Dublin will be next I'm sure!

Thanks Declan. I nearly didn't even know it was there! A very interesting concept alright

Dublin already has one of the most advanced traffic relief tunnels , the Dublin Port tunnel. Real infrastructure making a real difference to traffic congestion. We need more projects like that instead of hyped up theme park rides with a few neon lights.

The Port tunnel, while being a help, is only 4.5 kilometres long, was expensive to construct, and took a long time to complete. 1 or 2 large tunnels won’t fix traffic congestion in large cities. The Boring company however aims to build the tunnel infrastructure necessary to enable fast, safe and comfortable transportation. To feasibly build a large network of tunnels, it’s necessary to rapidly innovate to increase tunnelling speed and reduce costs. Look past the neon lights and see what’s possible in the very near future.

@@declanmurphy9555 Most tunnels solve an individual need (Like the LVCC Loop) but they are, or should be, part of a holistic public transport network plan which includes all modes of transport. The port tunnel solved a problem. Was it expensive? I thought it was due to effectively pay for itself in under 20 years. Plus the obvious reduction in congestion and pollution benefits. That sounds like a good investment by the city. What TBC have done so far seems about the right price for what was built, compared to similar size projects. Not sure about the Resorts world tunnel. that seems like a failure from the construction to the mode of operation. A shuttle of 8-10 cars together every 10 minutes. Sounds a lot like a badly designed people mover to me. So I do look past the neon lights. I do also look at what is possible and or practical. Tunnelling is 'expensive' for very good reasons. What TBC are proposing appears fairly pointless to me as a tunnel construction project manager. No matter how fast you tunnel (they cant go much faster than current technology) you can only achieve a very modest saving. As the cost of plant and people during the tunnel excavation is only a very small part of the overall cost of a project. Hence the actual tunnelling industry does not tend to focus on tunnelling speed. TBC first talked about adding more power. They didn't because TBM's are as powerful as they can be given the other parameters constraining their operation. Most existing ones have plenty of power to spare in their current specification, same as a domestic car. It's just not used 99% of the time. Even tier more modest ambitions are completely impractical and There are a dozen other reasons why their ambitious claims will remain just that. TBC Engineers must know this but I guess telling the boss that bit of bad news gets them off the payroll so why not keep up the charade.

You’ve never heard of a subway system?

Sorry! I may need to change my GoPro settings

Thanks for the comment Pawel. Others too have brought up these concerns in the comments section. Hopefully it has been thought about in the planning stages for future developments

@@NevoEVReviewIreland Did you find anywhere an answer to this safety/emergency issue? I wonder how it could be solved and nothing comes to my mind except maybe parallel tunnel with joints every so often...

@@nonviolentcommunicationpro1602 For fire safety in tunnels most countries follow the US National Fire Protection Agency regulations or similar. For Metro tunnels see NFPA 130, beware, it is not an exciting read!

@@tunnellingsalisbury7605 Do you know is this tunnel dug by Boring Company fulfills these regulations?

@@nonviolentcommunicationpro1602 I assume it has to comply to allow the public to use it. It seems to, as it is very short and basic in its nature and functionality, but this also limits the number of vehicles and people that can be in the system at any time. I understand the mid station is limited to 80 people and the tunnels are limited to 6 vehicles in any tunnel reach at any time. This may just be hearsay, or be out of date, but it fits with my understanding of the way the regulations are applied.

Thanks Jim.

Ha we'll have to visit John. Any excuse to go to Vegas

I was attending the 2022 NADA show (National Automotive Dealer Association) in the convention center and then spotted the Loop tunnel. Started up my GoPro and away I went. Thanks for the comment.

Great question Noel. No doubt they too have thought of it. Fire suppression system, positive ventilation and there may have been escape hatches in the walls I didn't see. Regarding opening the doors, I think we would have squeezed out

@@NevoEVReviewIreland Cheers sorry for the negative question, my weird brain is always looking for multiple escape routes! Perhaps that's why I always reverse into a parking space, so I can get out of trouble quicker than I got into trouble. :) :)

1. Internal diameter of the tunnel is 12feet (the boring machine bored out 14feet diameter). So there is enough room to open the TESLA car door. Even the paved road for the wheels is already 9 feet wide - as wide as the width of a usual parking lot. 2. There are fire prevention systems built in the tunnel. Only OLD type batteries were flamable 3. Cars that have broken down will be towed forward or backwards out of the tunnel by other cars. 4. Passengers will be "saved' by other Teslas within a couple of minutes. 5 The tunnel has bidirecetional air continuously pumped thru them.

@@NevoEVReviewIreland No fire suppression system (Hydrant points in the road beneath the surface every 60m for fire fighters to use when they get there). No escape doors in the walls, only escape is at the mid point station or the ends. Doors can open in the tunnel.

@@tunnellingsalisbury7605 That's right, some facts at last. However it is not going to be pretty if and when a battery catches fire down there. The main problem will be the smoke - so thick that people will be practically blind and panicking.

Thanks!

Thanks for the comment Edward. A great question

You do realise that tunnels are not a new invention? Let alone Musk's invention. There is a car tunnel a few miles from me in the UK, not the only one, and not just for taxis either. It's been there for years and no-one makes a fuss about it. I must admit it doesn't have coloured lights in it though - is Musk's "genius" knowing how to place coloured lights?

@@lexlayabout5757 tunnels for coordinated autonomous EVs only is actually a very new idea with a lot of potential. Though most of the people don't understand it.

Who needs emergency exits? Who needs tunnels with fire suppression? Who needs tunnels big a=enough to allow the EV's doors to open fully? Lithium ion batteries do not self-immolate or explode!

Thanks for the comments RogerM and Larry. Only afterwards the safety questions came up and apologies for not covering it. I assume Clarke County won't allow the larger project without the relevant safety features

I like the Musk way to pushing technology forwards. But some of his decisions look questionable. As the Boss he gives the goals and the final approval for his Specialised Working Team. Some times he looks to over promising relying on them to come up with a solution. He should just set the goals, and let the Team decide, and try to listening more to the realistic outcomes, not jumping project steps. And base on that present the concept to the Media.

@@larrysmith6797 another issue many forget about, is future adaptability. If the tunnels was wider, it could be converted in the future to a traffic tunnels or Metro system. With this size, only to a sewer system, service tunnel for electrical connections and plumbing, or a pedestrian tunnel.

@@NevoEVReviewIreland Wrote : _I assume Clarke County won't allow the larger project without the relevant safety features_ This is Las Vegas. They take gambles.

Ride was for free! Driver could have been for safety? I should have asked some questions but it was totally unplanned

@@NevoEVReviewIreland It is free to entice riders FTTB. Hardly anyone using it even so. After a time there will be fares. The driver is not for safety, they are really driving. There is no self-driving despite the fact that you'd think it would be easy to implement here. Musk boasts of self driving on public roads yet he won't have it on this closed loop - makes no sense.

@@lexlayabout5757 The self driving can work in the tunnel. That's the easy bit. The problem for the self driving is at the stations where people are getting in and out. Human decisions are made at these points with no communication with the vehicle. Imagine, ....you put your cases in the trunk, strap your kids in the back seat, close the door. Walk round to get in yourself but stop to give a bit of advice to a stranger asking direction....and off the car goes with your kids and your luggage! Maybe there is a way to stop this happening but there are thousands of other permutations of what could go wrong. It's where intuition meets AI. The human interface and the millions of option scenarios seems to be the bit they can't cope with. It would be good to see them try it out on a closed day, with volunteers, to see if it works. I believe it would fail, my guess is they also know this, hence it is not tried. In the meantime they can blame overbearing legislation for the delay in driverless operation.

Thanks for the comment Lex and I have to agree with all of your points.

Agree. Thanks for the comment. It's a novelty and by far not the most efficient form of transporting people.

The test tunnel in California is the one the car sits in a skid rather than driving I believe

You are in awe of feces, fool.

It is not amazing at all. It is taxis driving in a tunnel. Do you think Musk invented tunnels?

Thanks for the comment. It could well be a publicity stunt....

This is not the "Hyperloop", it is "The Loop". I think Musk enjoys people (even the media) getting confused by the names (he chose them). The Hyperloop is an idea for long distance high speed travel in a vacuum tube with which Musk wants to kill off railways because he hates them. Only a very short test stretch of Hyperloop has been built. Both schemes are bullshit.

I wonder if an element of lane assistant is being used. Questions I should have asked... Back to Vegas I go

@@NevoEVReviewIreland 😂