If you are a Tesla driver in Las Vegas, you should call Elon Musk 'great leader'

Elon Musk is not only the CEO of Tesla, but also of space company SpaceX and The Boring Company. The latter firm's core business is not to bore us to death, but to drill tunnels under American cities. It was originally intended that lightning-fast passenger modules would whiz around (ever heard of hyperloop?), but the reality is less exciting.

The Boring Company's Las Vegas tunnel is a bit disappointing

The Boring Company tunnel is now open in Las Vegas. It is located below the Convention Center, is about 3 kilometers long and has three stations, between which passengers are transported by drivers in a regular Tesla. Things don't go very quickly; the drivers are not allowed to drive faster than 35 km/h in the tunnel. By comparison, the modules in the original hyperloop idea would have to continue flying at 150mph underground. The downgrade is a bit embarrassing.

Tesla drivers are not allowed to chat with passengers

Anyway, The Boring Company has now built a kind of Uber taxi service in a tunnel. Fun. Have a nice chat with the driver. But no, that's not allowed. Because the directors have been given a hundred-page script from The Boring Company that they must adhere to. And that probably also has to do with the spastic safety culture in the United States, in which you can be sued for the smallest act.

Even 'how long have you been working here?' can't you answer

If a passenger wants to know how long a driver has been working for The Boring Company, the person behind the wheel is not allowed to tell. He or she should say, "Long enough to know these tunnels pretty well." Because according to the script, passengers "will not feel safe knowing you've only been working here for a week". Drivers must "find a way to get around the question and divert attention".

Questions about Elon Musk should be avoided by drivers

The script only gets really interesting when it comes to Elon Musk. The Boring Company knows the CEO is a controversial figure (and a jerk), so drivers aren't allowed to answer questions about him. "Answer as briefly as possible and do your best to stop the conversation with the passenger. If passengers ask further questions, politely say, 'Sorry, but I can't answer that.'"

'Elon Musk is fantastic / inspiring / a great leader!'

The Boring Company is apparently so afraid of Elon Musk's reputation that the script sometimes reads like North Korean propaganda. When asked 'What kind of person is Elon Musk?' as a passenger you will get 'He is fantastic / inspiring / motivating' as an answer. 'Do you enjoy working for Elon Musk' is answered with 'Yes, he is a great leader! He motivates us to do good work.'

Drivers are not allowed to tell that Musk is actually a jerk

But woe betide if a passenger wants to talk about Musk's bizarre twitter. Then he or she is fobbed off with, "We are simply here to provide a fantastic transportation experience." And The Boring Company also knows that Musk is not an ideal boss. So this question becomes, 'Is it true what I read in the paper about Elon Musk? That he [een rotbaas is / wiet rookt / medewerkers geen vakanties laat nemen / etcetera]?', replies with, "I haven't read that. That's not my experience."