Timeline: Elon - Vegas Loop Poison

Boring Company breaks ground on the Vegas Loop

2019 — Elon Musk’s Boring Company begins tunneling beneath Las Vegas, promising a 68-mile underground network of Tesla-shuttling tunnels with more than 100 stations.

Vegas Loop opens — and falls short of its capacity promise

2021 — The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop opens to passengers. Early data shows peak ridership around 1,355 passengers per hour, far below the 4,400/hour promised in the original contract.

42 worker injuries reported to OSHA in a single year

2023 — The Boring Company reports 42 worker injuries to OSHA, including burns and rashes caused by the caustic tunnel accelerant MasterRoc AGA 41S.

Fortune exposes chemical exposure and missing protective gear

February 27, 2024 — A Fortune investigation reveals workers soaked in caustic chemicals without adequate PPE. A former safety manager wrote the company had "consistently flirted with death."

Named to the "Dirty Dozen" worst workplace safety offenders

April 2024 — The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health lists the Boring Company among the nation’s "Dirty Dozen" most dangerous employers.

Worker’s pelvis crushed; construction briefly halted

September 2024 — A worker’s pelvis is crushed in an incident that briefly stops construction. Around the same period another employee is shocked by an electrical panel.

Firefighters suffer chemical burns during a rescue drill

December 10, 2024 — On the second day of a Clark County Fire Department rescue drill, firefighters’ boots fill with caustic muck. Two are hospitalized with chemical burns that leave permanent scars.

Nevada OSHA issues $425,000 in "willful" fines

May 28, 2025 — Nevada OSHA issues three "willful" violations — its most serious classification — and proposes fines totaling more than $425,000 over the firefighter burns.

Fines vanish a day after a call to the Governor’s office

May 29, 2025 — One day after the citations are issued, Boring Company president Steve Davis calls Governor Lombardo’s office. The citations are withdrawn before a hastily convened meeting even begins; a case-file document is later found altered.

Nearly $500K fine for dumping drilling fluids into the sewer

October 2025 — The Clark County Water Reclamation District fines the Boring Company nearly $500,000 for illegally pumping toxic drilling fluids into public manholes, then "feigning compliance" and resuming.

Regulators tally nearly 800 environmental violations

November 2025 — State regulators cite nearly 800 environmental violations, including 689 missed mandatory site inspections and excavation begun before permits were finalized.

Lawmakers question Las Vegas’s bet on the Vegas Loop

January 2026 — State lawmaker Edgar Flores questions whether the LVCVA should stay "all-in" on the Vegas Loop, Rep. Dina Titus demands answers on lax regulation, and the Sierra Club vows to oppose further expansion.