Elon Musk’s Boring Company secures contract for Las Vegas transport tunnel

Simon Alvarez

By

Posted on May 22, 2019

Despite receiving some pushback from two board members of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, The Boring Company has nevertheless secured a contract to build a transport tunnel under the LVCA’s campus. The project, which was approved following a vote by the LVCA’s board on Wednesday, will be comprised of two tunnels that are designed to transport passengers from the LVCA campus’ New Exhibit Hall to the existing North/Central Hall.

The Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnel is expected to be completed in time for the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show, which will be held in January. Elon Musk has expressed his optimism at the project’s potential completion date, stating on Twitter that the transport tunnel could be operational by the end of 2019. This is a very aggressive timetable, though the relatively short length of the tunnel at less than one mile could improve the Boring Company’s chances at completing the project within Musk’s target timeframe.

The Las Vegas transport tunnel will utilize a Loop System, which is comprised of autonomous electric vehicles (AEV) that can carry passengers from one point to another. The Boring Company notes that standard AEVs are Tesla Model X and Model 3 vehicles, though high-occupancy AEVs are also under development. The latter utilizes a modified Model X chassis that is capable of transporting up to 16 passengers with both sitting and standing room. Provided that The Boring Company could complete the Las Vegas transport tunnel without delays, test runs in the system could begin as early as November 2020, according to the project’s public contract.

In its vote on Wednesday, the LVCA granted a $48.6 million contract to the tunneling startup, though the total project is estimated to cost around $52.5 million. Two-thirds of the total funding for the project will not be released to the tunneling startup until the transport tunnel is complete. Previous reports also hinted that if the Boring Company is unable to receive a certificate of occupancy for the transport tunnel, the LVCA will get back its entire investment.

While the Boring Company was able to secure the Las Vegas contract, the tunneling startup’s proposal still met some pushback from two board members of the LVCA. In recent weeks, board members Michele Fiore and Carolyn Goodman argued against the Boring Company’s proposal, citing the startup’s inexperience. The two board members suggested that the LVCA adopt the proposal of Austria-based Doppelmayr Garaventa Group instead, which will create an above-ground transit system that would cost around $215 million to complete.

Elon Musk’s Boring Company secures contract for Las Vegas transport tunnel

<!–

View Comments

–>

Source

Tesla rolls out location-based activation preferences for Sentry Mode

Simon Alvarez

By

Posted on May 21, 2019

Tesla has started rolling out Sentry Mode preferences to its vehicles, giving owners more control of their electric cars’ built-in security system. The new Sentry Mode options were reported by Tesla owners whose vehicles recently received the company’s 2019.16.2 firmware update.

Screenshots shared by the Tesla community show that Sentry Mode now has location-based activation options. Among these are “Exclude Home,” “Exclude Work,” and “Exclude Preferences.” These options will likely be appreciated by Tesla owners, as they could be assured that their vehicles will not trigger the security system while it is parked in places like their garage.

Tesla has been improving Sentry Mode since releasing the camera-based security system earlier this year. For example, initial iterations of Sentry Mode required Tesla owners to manually activate the security feature every time they leave their vehicle. Later versions of Sentry Mode improved this, by having the system enable when the car is put into Park.

Activating Sentry Mode has become easier as well, with a dedicated button being placed on the vehicles’ infotainment screens. New voice commands, including a Rick and Morty Easter Egg that involves users activating the security system with the phrase “Keep Summer Safe,” has also been introduced.

Tesla has used location-based data for its vehicles’ features in the past. Among these include Smart Air Suspension for the Model S and Model X, which allows the Model S and Model X to change their ride height depending on their location, as well as auto folding mirrors for the Model 3.

Sentry Mode was rolled out by the electric car maker partly as a response to a string of break-ins seemingly targeting Tesla’s electric vehicles. In true Elon Musk fashion, the security system includes several pop culture references, including the glowing red “eye” of 2001: A Space Odyssey’s AI villain, HAL 9000, which informs people that the vehicle is recording footage.

It has only been a few months since Sentry Mode was released, but the system had already proven itself to be incredibly useful for Tesla owners. Since its release, Sentry has helped identify individuals vandalizing or breaking into the company’s vehicles, including a person deliberately keying a Model 3 in broad daylight, as well as a politician who opted to drive away after scratching a Tesla in a parking lot, to name a few.

Tesla rolls out location-based activation preferences for Sentry Mode

<!–

View Comments

–>

Source

Tesla Model 3 with Track Mode takes on the Nurburgring with BMW M2 Competition

Simon Alvarez

By

Posted on May 21, 2019

A Tesla Model 3 Performance with Track Mode recently took on what could very well be the world’s most iconic track: the Nurburgring. During the duration of the run, which was filmed from an accompanying BMW M2 Competition, the Model 3 Performance showed off its acceleration chops, overtaking several vehicles as it ripped through the track.

Footage of the Silicon Valley-made electric sedan and the German-made high-performance car was shared on YouTube by Marcel D., who owns the Model 3. The Model 3 was just delivered recently, and it was completely stock when its owner took it to the track. Despite this, the vehicle took on the twists and turns of the Nurburgring fairly well, at times even accelerating away from its M2 companion.

The Model 3 owner noted that his vehicle consumed about 100-120 km (about 60-74 miles) of range per lap. Despite the high power consumption of the vehicle, the Model 3 did not exhibit any performance throttling during its track session. The Model 3 was carrying three passengers during the run too, but it still handled very well, moving like it was on rails when it took on the tricky sections of the track.

The nature of the video, as well as the presence of the BMW M2 behind the Model 3 Performance, has resulted in some misconceptions about the two vehicles’ track session. A look at social media posts about the video shows electric car skeptics criticizing the Model 3 for being unable to shake off the BMW M2. Some internal combustion engine fans also hailed the Bavarian performance car for allegedly toying with the electric sedan. These assumptions are inaccurate.

It should be noted that the two vehicles were in no way competing against each other, considering that the people in the two cars were friends who simply wanted to test out the Model 3’s track capabilities. In this light, the Tesla definitely did not disappoint, and it all but showed that the track times of professional racecar driver Randy Pobst (who tuned Track Mode with Tesla) around the “Streets” of Willow Springs International Raceway in CA were no fluke. Pobst’s track times with the Model 3 Performance made headlines after it beat the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and the 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia during a closed circuit test late last November.  

The Tesla Model 3 is among the vehicles currently breaking the mold and conventional assumptions that people have over the alleged limitations of electric cars. While even the best premium EVs on the market such as the Model S P100D tend to throttle their power when driven around a track, the Model 3 Performance is actually capable of maintaining its optimum performance during extended hard driving sessions. So impressive was the Model 3 that noted auto publication Top Gear recently declared the electric vehicle superior to one of the best high-performance sedans in the industry, the BMW M3.

Watch the Tesla Model 3 take on the Nurburgring in the video below.

[embedded content]

Tesla Model 3 with Track Mode takes on the Nurburgring with BMW M2 Competition

<!–

View Comments

–>

Source