Fontainebleau Las Vegas, the gleaming $3.7 billion tower that redefined the north Strip, now plugs directly into Elon Musk’s subterranean transit web. Announced January 26, 2026, the resort’s new Vegas Loop station on Level V-1 of its south valet marks the latest thrust for The Boring Company’s underground ambitions. Guests score complimentary rides to the Las Vegas Convention Center’s four stations—Riviera, West, Central Underground, and South—plus Encore and Westgate, positioning Fontainebleau as the sole Strip property offering such perks.

The station links via tunnel to the Riviera station in the convention center’s West Hall northwest parking lot, enabling seamless, traffic-free hops in Tesla vehicles. Over 10 miles of tunnels now lace beneath the city, with four miles operational, ferrying more than three million passengers to date, per The Boring Company. This addition accelerates adoption amid Vegas’s perennial gridlock, where 40 million annual visitors clog arteries like Las Vegas Boulevard.

Strip Integration Accelerates

Free access underscores Fontainebleau’s guest-centric push, extending alongside free parking for locals and Rewards members through May 31. The resort maintains valet validation for dining, spa, or casino spenders. Boring Co. President Steve Davis noted this month that the under-construction University Center Loop—threading Paradise Road toward Harry Reid International Airport—eyes Q1 2026 opening, including a station north of Tropicana Avenue, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Current operations span Resorts World, Westgate, Encore, and convention center hubs, with December launches tying into airport runs—capped at four miles surface travel, per Nevada Transportation Authority rules. Fares hover around $12 for airport jaunts from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., blending tunnel and street segments. The Boring Company outfitted 100 of its 130-Tesla fleet with required transponders, testing 50 rides daily in Phase 1.

Airport Assault in Phases

Phase 2 deploys a 2.2-mile dual-direction tunnel from Westgate to 4744 Paradise Road, slashing surface miles and bumping speeds to 60 mph—double the standard 35 mph Loop limit. Fleet expands to 160 vehicles soon, scaling to 250-300 in Phase 3 extending to 5032 Palo Verde Road south of Tropicana, axing stoplight delays. Phase 4, the ‘holy grail,’ delivers a dedicated underground terminal, though timelines stretch.

Davis detailed these in a January tour, per the Review-Journal: full buildout envisions 68 miles of tunnels, 104 stations arcing the Strip, downtown, Allegiant Stadium, Chinatown, and south Strip sites by 2028-2029. Strip core construction launches fall 2026, targeting 2027 completion, with stations tucked in parking garages within 100 feet of entrances.

Permitting Gauntlet Slows Bore

Over 600 Clark County permits loom, each chewing six months despite weekly approvals. The company seeks SpaceX-style operator licensing for utility-cleared digs. City of Las Vegas greenlit its first permit for a north-of-Sahara tunnel to The Strat and Fremont Street’s Circa Garage Mahal. Fleet balloons to 1,200 Teslas at peak, blending cars for solos with Tesla Robovans for event surges.

‘The second you have four passengers and you have to start stopping, the best thing you can do is put your smallest vehicle in, which is a car,’ Davis said. ‘But if you know people are going to the stadium because of a game… that’s when you put a high occupancy vehicle in, that’s when you put the Robovan in.’

Operational Realities Emerge

Las Vegas Review-Journal’s X post hailed Fontainebleau as the freshest Strip joiner, with Sawyer Merritt echoing free-launch rides linking to LVCC, Encore, Westgate, and airport paths. Muskonomy pegged tunnels at 10+ miles, Q1 openings ahead. The Boring Company’s site lists eight operational stations, connectors to Resorts World, Westgate, Encore live, tying airport, stadium, downtown, convention center.

Fox5 Vegas clarified Fontainebleau’s exclusivity in complimentary Loop transport, station at south valet Level V-1. 8 News Now affirmed free access distinction. Teslarati noted Strip embrace, free trips to LVCC, Encore, Westgate via Riviera tie-in. Airport connector twin tunnels wrap Q1 2026, fully subsurface.

Ridership and Revenue Ramp

Over two million rides logged since inception, outpacing 95% of U.S. light rail daily, per Joe Lonsdale on X—topping Austin’s Cap Metro at fraction cost. LVCC Loop alone hit 32,000 passengers daily at peaks with 98% satisfaction. Expansion taps Vegas’s $40 billion tourism haul, funding via casino pacts, governments, per Review-Journal January 9 coverage.

Minimal oversight shadows growth; ProPublica via Nevada Independent flagged light regulation as tunnels proliferate. Yet approvals roll: Virgin Hotels, Thomas & Mack links done, more burrow. Prufrock-5 machine promises seven miles daily, AI-boosted.

Urban Tunneling Frontier

Fontainebleau’s hook cements Loop’s Strip foothold, luring conventioneers and gamblers underground. With Q1 milestones—University Center, airport subsurface—2026 tests scalability. Davis’s vision: 90,000 passengers hourly at maturity, dwarfing light rail averages, reshaping Vegas mobility sans taxpayer billions.