Dubai partners with Musk for ‘Dubai Loop’ project to connect densely populated areas

Dubai is set to partner with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on an ambitious project called the ‘Dubai Loop,’ designed to connect the city’s most densely populated areas, officials announced at the World Government Summit (WGS) 2025, Khaleej Times reported.

The announcement was made during a virtual session featuring Musk and Omar Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, on the third day of the summit.

“We're going to announce the joint project of Dubai Loop, which is a loop project that is going to cover Dubai's most densely populated areas for people to go from point to point,” Al Olama said at the end of the 30-minute conversation.

Musk described the concept as akin to a “wormhole” that would allow people to travel rapidly across the city.

“You just wormhole from one part of the city and boom, you're out in another part. I think once people try it out, they will think this is really cool,” Musk said. He added that the loop system, once operational, would retrospectively appear as the obvious choice for connecting busy urban areas.

Al Olama expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “We look forward to the partnership and we're going to join the first trip, the first pod.”

While further details about the Dubai Loop were not disclosed, the announcement came during a discussion on Musk’s venture, The Boring Company, which focuses on building fast, safe, and cost-effective tunnels to alleviate urban traffic congestion.

Safe and efficient urban travel

The Dubai Loop aims to provide a futuristic transport solution in line with Dubai's vision of becoming a global smart city.

Musk explained how The Boring Company’s tunnels have helped reduce traffic congestion in Los Angeles and are currently being expanded to connect key locations across Las Vegas, including major hotels, the convention center, and the airport.

“Tunnels are extremely useful for easing traffic in congested areas,” Musk said. “In Las Vegas, we're connecting the whole city with all the big hotels, the convention center, and the airport.”

He contrasted underground travel with alternatives like flying taxis or helicopters, which he noted are noisy, generate significant wind force, and are vulnerable to bad weather conditions such as sandstorms or blizzards.

“On the other hand, none of these problems exist with underground travel,” Musk added, highlighting the safety of tunnels even in extreme situations like earthquakes.

Further updates on the project are expected as development progresses.