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Nevada lawmakers held an extended hearing Tuesday on alleged workplace safety and environmental problems involving Elon Musk’s Boring Company, focusing on the “Vegas Loop” underground tunnel system that moves passengers in Teslas around the Las Vegas Convention Center. Lawmakers said they reviewed state safety and environmental enforcement actions tied to the company’s Las Vegas work, even as the company provided written responses instead of sending officials to testify in person.
Democratic Assemblymember Howard Watts, whose district includes the tunnel project, told reporters that lawmakers believe the company has repeatedly run into regulatory scrutiny. “I think they are a company that acts like they are kind of above the law and want to play by their own set of rules,” Watts said, speaking to The Associated Press during the hearing.
Lawmakers said the questions centered on workplace injury complaints and environmental rule issues connected to the tunnel project. Between 2020 and 2026, the Nevada State Occupational Safety and Health Administration received 17 complaints, according to the hearing discussion. One of those resulted in an inspection that included eight proposed citations, and lawmakers cited claims that 15 to 20 employees were injured after being burned with accelerants, as well as allegations that there were no showers available for employees sprayed with the accelerants.
The Boring Company did not respond to emails seeking comment from The Associated Press, but in a letter to lawmakers the company emphasized safety procedures. The company’s written answers described practices including daily inspections and workplace safety training. Company officials also said they were examining circumstances around a prior tunnel accident that Watts raised during the hearing.
Watts highlighted a September 2025 incident in which he said a worker suffered a crushing injury inside a tunnel after being pinned between two 4,000-foot pipes. Firefighters used a crane to extract the worker from the tunnel opening, Watts said. In a September statement provided to local news outlets, the company said it was investigating the incident and that “the safety and well-being of its employees are top priority,” adding that the employee was in stable condition and doing well.
Lawmakers also discussed enforcement and penalties, including money tied to both workplace and environmental proceedings. The Boring Company has paid nearly $600,000 in fines, most of which went to a local water reclamation district for discharging untreated wastewater, according to the hearing record. The company is also fighting about $355,000 in fines related to matters involving Nevada’s OSHA and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.
Watts said the hearing raised the prospect of new legislation when lawmakers return to session next year, with the goal of speeding up the process for assessing violations and shortening the timeline for contesting them. Lawmakers framed the issue as part of a broader challenge: how regulators handle major, high-profile infrastructure projects built by private companies with less direct public oversight.
The hearing included discussion of a prior dispute in which some fines were withdrawn. Salli Ortiz, legal counsel for the agency, told lawmakers that the reports from OSHA had mistakes and anomalies, which meant they likely would not meet the high burden of proof required to justify the fines. She also told lawmakers that state investigators learned the two firefighters had opted not to wear a second layer of protective clothing, and that the Boring Company held six safety meetings with the fire department before the drill, based on inspection reports.
Ortiz’s comments addressed a May 2025 incident in which firefighters received chemical burns during a training exercise at the site. According to the hearing summary, the state withdrew more than $425,000 in fines tied to that event after the evidentiary problems were identified. Democratic lawmakers criticized Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and his administration for what they described as leniency toward the company, while a top state official said external pressure did not sway decisions.
During the hearing, Kris Sanchez, director of the state Department of Business and Industry, told lawmakers, “The idea that there is external pressure that is swaying my decision making, or our division’s decision making, or that there’s any pressure that comes from me as a result of pressure from on high is incorrect,” according to the AP account.
Even as scrutiny continues, supporters and users of the service say the tunnels have become convenient for visitors. The Vegas Loop began offering free rides around the Las Vegas Convention Center in 2021, and it charges between $4 and $12 for some trips to hotels, casinos and the airport, according to the report. On a recent weekday, passengers used stations to hail Teslas for rides around the convention area, and visitors described the service as easy to use during major events.
San Diego resident Devin Newcomb, who said he is a frequent visitor, said the tunnel service helps him get around Las Vegas and will be more valuable as it expands. “It’s awesome. I love it,” Newcomb said. Florida resident Samantha Mingola said she has used the Vegas Loop while attending an expo at the convention center and found it easier than other rideshares, particularly because she was staying at a hotel with a loop station.
At the same time, Mingola said she remained uneasy about the company and the tunnel concept. “It’s a good idea but it scares me,” she said while heading to a station, describing concerns about whether the tunnels could cave in.
Nevada’s scrutiny comes as Boring Company projects elsewhere continue moving forward, including construction in Nashville on the “Music City Loop,” where some Nashville officials have raised concerns about safety, transparency and local input. The initial 13-mile segment of tunnels in Nashville, the hearing record said, is intended to connect the city’s airport and downtown.