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Is it the future? This is certainly part of the future of transportation.

I was a little skeptical in advance. I just assume that there will be a long line and too few cars, and it will be faster and easier to walk from the brand new West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center to the far South Hall, the distance is o. 8 miles.

Therefore, when I took the escalator into the underground tunnel below the LVCC, I was surprised to find that there was only about one minute waiting time. I just walked up to a Tesla Model X and greeted the human driver. After the door closed automatically, we set off. Two other SEMA attendees have climbed under the Falcon Wing door and entered the middle seat of Model X.

The tunnel we entered was a flat asphalt road with no curbs. The driver drove through a slightly winding tunnel, which was lit by blue, green and red lights. The top speed is limited to 40 mph.

"I hit 41 o'clock earlier and got scratched," my driver said.

Later, on another ride, we reached 42 mph. I have ridden a few times during SEMA. They are all calm, certainly not as scary as the one I rode in the Hawthorne project tunnel of The Boring Company a few years ago. In that most terrible incident, Model X was self-driving, and the spring-loaded side wheels at the corners of the car hit the curb in the tunnel at an exponentially higher speed. Finally, at a speed of about 45 mph, an engineer in the driver’s seat had to grab the steering wheel to prevent us from being crashed. (I must say I prefer the new way I experience in Vegas.)

In Las Vegas, there are two tunnels. One tunnel accommodates Tesla electric cars in one direction, and the other tunnel collects traffic in the opposite direction. The Las Vegas system has three stations, one in the middle and one at each end. If you enter at an intermediate station facing one direction and want to go from the other direction, the driver will easily and simply turn around and take you to your destination.

At the previous SEMA and CES exhibitions, there were cheerful retirees around the convention center, sitting on electric golf carts on the ground. They also drive guests to visit LVCC. They bring you closer to where you want to go without having to walk. But the tunnel is faster and more efficient. You can go further in a shorter period of time, and there will never be any obstacles.

A plan released by The Boring Company on October 20 stated that Vegas Loop will eventually be 29 miles long, with 51 stations and a capacity of 57,000 passengers per hour. It will also provide funds without any taxpayer funds. Instead, The Boring Company will provide funding for the tunnel part, and various resorts will provide funding for the station.

Is this the future of transportation? It will meet the specific needs of densely populated urban areas such as Las Vegas. Whether it can be expanded to cover even greater distances, such as Los Angeles, is another question. In theory, there is no reason not to. One day, the Commissioner of Clark County in Las Vegas approved their "Las Vegas Loop System" tunnel to connect hotels, convention centers, and even airports. With 51 sites planned on that Loop, it will also be as efficient as you hope.

"You don't have to stop at every station along the way," assured Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "You can get on the bus here and go straight to where you want to go without stopping. There are no traffic lights, no stop signs, and no stations where you have to stop along the way. Therefore, it makes travel very convenient and fast , And will allow our guests and visitors to experience everything in Vegas in a very interesting and efficient way."

Wouldn't the subway do the same thing in a more efficient way? Here is how I answered this question after a quick ride: Just get in the car and go wherever I want to go. This is more convenient and faster than taking the subway, where you have to wait for the train. It's like taking a taxi but no traffic or stop lights to slow me down. Have enough Model X in enough tunnels without waiting. It is effective for relatively short distances like Las Vegas. And being underground means you don't need a lot of air conditioning in the summer, right?

There are definitely obstacles to overcome, but they are not insurmountable, are they? Leave your insights in the comments.