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Boring Company Selected for Universal Orlando Tunnel: Elon's Underground Transit Expands | Taha Abbasi
Taha Abbasi··3 min read
Elon Musk’s Tunnel Company Lands Major Theme Park Contract
Taha Abbasi has been tracking the Boring Company’s evolution from Elon Musk side project to legitimate infrastructure player, and the Universal Orlando selection marks an important inflection point. The underground transport tunnel project is designed to address the persistent gridlock surrounding International Drive — one of Orlando’s most congested tourism corridors.
The Boring Company’s selection over traditional transit solutions signals growing confidence in its tunneling technology and operational track record from the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, which has been carrying passengers since 2021.
Why Theme Parks Are the Perfect Use Case
As Taha Abbasi sees it, theme park transportation is an ideal application for Boring Company tunnels. The distances are relatively short (1-5 miles), demand is concentrated and predictable, the customer experience benefit is clear (skip traffic, arrive fresh), and the operator (Universal) has both the capital and the incentive to invest in premium transit.
International Drive traffic is genuinely terrible. Anyone who’s visited Orlando knows that the last mile to Universal, SeaWorld, or the Convention Center can take 30-45 minutes during peak times. A tunnel bypass that takes 2-3 minutes transforms the guest experience and could actually drive increased attendance.
Scaling Beyond Vegas
The Vegas Loop has been the Boring Company’s proof-of-concept, and as Taha Abbasi has covered with the initial selection news, Orlando represents the first major expansion beyond Nevada. The Las Vegas system currently uses Tesla vehicles in dedicated tunnels — a model that works well for point-to-point routes at theme parks and entertainment districts.
The question is whether this model can scale to genuine urban transit. Critics argue that individual vehicles in small tunnels can’t match the capacity of traditional subway systems. Supporters counter that the dramatically lower construction cost — Boring Company claims tunnels at a fraction of traditional subway costs — enables building more tunnels for the same budget.
The Tesla Connection
Every Boring Company tunnel vehicle is a Tesla. As the fleet potentially transitions to autonomous Cybercabs, the operational economics improve further — no drivers needed, higher utilization, and integration with Tesla’s broader autonomy platform. Taha Abbasi believes this is the long-term play: Boring Company tunnels become dedicated autonomous transit corridors that demonstrate robotaxi capability in controlled environments before scaling to public roads.
Orlando’s Transit Future
Orlando has long struggled with public transit. The city’s sprawling layout, tourism-driven economy, and car-dependent infrastructure create a transportation challenge that conventional solutions have failed to address. The Boring Company tunnel won’t solve Orlando’s broader transit needs, but it could demonstrate that innovative infrastructure approaches deserve consideration alongside traditional rail and bus investments.
For Taha Abbasi, the Universal Orlando project is another data point in Elon Musk’s portfolio of infrastructure bets — tunnels, satellites, rockets, and vehicles all aimed at making physical infrastructure dramatically cheaper and more capable. Whether any individual project succeeds is less important than the pattern: systematically attacking infrastructure costs with technology-first approaches.
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About the Author: Taha Abbasi is a technology executive, CTO, and applied frontier tech builder. Read more on Grokpedia | YouTube: The Brown Cowboy | tahaabbasi.com
Taha Abbasi
Engineer by trade. Builder by instinct. Explorer by choice.
