The Boring Company, the Elon Musk-founded tunnel construction services firm, appears to be the latest outfit to jump onto the crypto bandwagon. It has reportedly started offering customers to pay for Loop rides with Musk’s favourite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin (DOGE). Musk’s other ventures, Tesla and SpaceX, are no strangers to DOGE. While the electric car maker accepts Dogecoin as payments for merch on its online store, SpaceX plans to launch a DOGE-funded satellite mission later this year. Musk has always been a strong supporter of Dogecoin, saying that he will continue to buy DOGE tokens in the future as well.
As reported by the BBC, the new crypto payment option first appeared late last week as The Boring Company inaugurated its maiden Loop station right outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. For those unaware, the Loop is a transit system where passengers can zip around on human-driven Tesla cars. Debuting in Las Vegas, Loop currently has three stops in the city. The Boring Company plans to expand to over 50 Loop stations dotted across the Vegas Strip. The Loop project doesn’t use taxpayers’ money.
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On the Loop, passengers can travel on Tesla vehicles at a speed of about 35mph. Musk’s original idea was to facilitate larger bullet-train-like vehicles that can travel at a speed of 150mph. However, The Boring Company has said that the Tesla cars will get automated in the future, promising higher speeds.
As of now, Loop rides are reportedly free, but a payment structure will be put in place soon. In terms of rates, single rides will cost $1.50. Customers can also choose to go for a day pass at $2.50. Those who don’t wish to pay with crypto can simply use credit cards or the US dollar.
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