Dubai is officially moving ahead with what will become The Boring Company’s first tunnel project outside the United States, marking a major milestone for Elon Musk’s tunneling venture and its ambitions to reshape urban transportation.
According to Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, construction will begin with a pilot phase of the Dubai Loop project. As the RTA explained, “The implementation of the first phase of Dubai Loop project will commence with the construction of a 6.4km pilot route, comprising four stations and linking the Dubai International Financial Centre and Dubai Mall.” That initial phase is just the beginning, as the regulator added that “this phase will pave the way for expansion into the full project alignment, which will extend up to 22.2 km and include 19 stations, connecting Dubai World Trade Centre and the financial district with Business Bay.”
The tunnels themselves are purpose-built for vehicle transport, with the RTA noting that the “Dubai Loop project involves the construction of tunnels with a diameter of 3.6 metres, dedicated to vehicle transport.” The authority added that the tunnels will use “advanced tunnelling technologies that enable faster delivery, lower construction costs, and reduced impact on existing roads and utilities compared with conventional transport systems.”
As with other Boring Company projects, the Dubai Loop will exclusively use Tesla vehicles to ferry passengers through the underground network. The pilot route spans roughly four miles and connects some of Dubai’s busiest commercial and retail districts, with long-term plans calling for an eventual network stretching close to 14 miles.
The project was first announced last fall, with an opening targeted for the second quarter of 2026, and represents a significant expansion beyond The Boring Company’s U.S.-only footprint. So far, the company’s only operational system is the Vegas Loop, which currently transports passengers in Tesla vehicles beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center and is actively expanding across the city with dozens of new stations planned. More recently, the company also unveiled plans for a Nashville tunnel dubbed the Music City Loop.
To support these growing ambitions, The Boring Company has opened a Global Operations Control Center in Bastrop, Texas, allowing it to remotely monitor and manage tunneling projects across the U.S. — and now, internationally. If successful, the Dubai Loop could serve as a high-profile proof point for exporting Musk’s underground transit vision to major cities around the world.
