Elon Musk’s Boring Company is planning to build an underground transit system in Dubai, with the “Dubai Loop” expected to open as early as next year, according to a UAE official.
Bloomberg reports that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Omar Al Olama, recently announced that the Boring Company’s “Dubai Loop” transit system is set to become operational by the second quarter of 2026. This underground transportation network, a partnership between Elon Musk’s tunneling venture and the UAE government, aims to alleviate traffic congestion in the rapidly growing city of Dubai.
According to the initial plans unveiled by the Boring Company in February, the Dubai Loop’s first phase will span 17 kilometers (10.6 miles) of tunnels and have the capacity to transport 20,000 passengers per hour. Al Olama stated that this initial loop is just the beginning, with plans for “multiple loops” in the future, although he did not provide a specific timeline for the expansion.
The Dubai Loop project aligns with the city’s ongoing efforts to tackle the increasing congestion resulting from its growing population. Dubai has been exploring various futuristic solutions, including air taxi services from companies like California-based Joby Aviation and its Chinese competitors. The UAE has positioned itself as a welcoming host for innovative technologies, such as flying cars and AI chatbots, by implementing light-touch regulations and ambitious expansion plans.
If successful, the Dubai Loop would mark a significant milestone for the Boring Company, which has struggled to deliver on its promises in the past. The company’s only functioning public Loop is currently operating in Las Vegas, where human-driven Tesla vehicles shuttle passengers between stations. It remains unclear whether the Dubai Loop will rely on Tesla cars or utilize other modes of transport that the Boring Company has previously proposed, such as vacuum pods and driverless vehicles.
Breitbart News has reported on The Boring Company’s Las Vegas loop, which got off to a rocky start:
Elon Musk’s Boring Company unveiled its Las Vegas Convention Center Loop tunnel this week at CES 2022. The tunnel was quickly labeled a “death trap” after footage from inside the tunnel showed a traffic jam in an enclosed space with no emergency exits visible — although the Boring Company claims the tunnel has multiple exits.
Footage showed a passenger in the back seat of a Tesla driving through the white tunnel before coming to a standstill behind other vehicles. Many users online quickly noted that the situation seemed unsafe, with one noting: “if a car catches fire, people will die.” Another Reddit user commented: “Ok eh…. what happens if there’s a crash and a fire? How will people get out? This is a death trap and a disaster waiting to happen. Especially with Tesla battery fires…”
The Dubai Loop is one of several ventures Musk’s companies have undertaken in the Gulf region. In addition to expanding his Starlink satellite internet terminals, Musk has also proposed Boring Company tunnels and robotaxis in Saudi Arabia. The UAE has also been selected as the first site outside the US for OpenAI’s Stargate project, which involves plans for a five-gigawatt AI data center developed in collaboration with Oracle Corp. and other partners.
Read more at Bloomberg here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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