Las Vegas is set to give Elon Musk’s Boring Company its first payout: a $44m contract to build a high-speed underground transit system serving an expanded convention center.

But the city is hedging its bets. The contract withholds over two-thirds of payments until construction is complete, and specifies hefty penalties should the system fail to accommodate enough passengers.

The project is a gamble on technology that has yet to be demonstrated at a commercial scale, and on a company whose founder has a reputation for missing deadlines.

According to the proposed contract between Musk’s company and the city, which was made public ahead of a vote on Wednesday by board members of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), The Boring Company would build two 0.8-mile tunnels and three underground stations at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the world’s largest single-level convention center. Construction would begin as soon as September, with the entire system being completed by November 2020.

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