Elon Musk's high-speed tunnel project in Las Vegas removes its first obstacle

Elon Musk's plan to build express route tunnels in Las Vegas received its first approval Tuesday, after the city's convention and visiting authority board voted for Musk & # 39; s Boring Company for a new people-mover project.

The plan involves digging a loop with underground tunnels that can carry passengers in autonomous high speed electric vehicles. The loop will only include the conference center, but can be expanded to include other points in Las Vegas, such as McCarran International Airport. Boring Company said the starting phase would cost between $ 35 million and $ 55 million.

The goal is to get the Boring Company's transit system fully operational in time for the 2021[ads1] Consumer Electronics Show, but Musk said it could be up and running as the end of this year.

The news comes as Musk's other tunnel project in Chicago has entered serious political headwinds. The recent election to replace outgoing mayor Rahm Emanuel has thrown the plan to connect the Hare Airport with the downtown Loop district to uncertainty, with both leading candidates requesting Boring Company to be reconsidered.