Elon Musk has debuted his new radical idea, outlining a project that’s straight out of futuristic science fiction. It’s called the Hyperloop and it could possibly get you from L.A. to San Francisco in half an hour.
The Hyperloop would work by using electromagnetic energy to propel pods through an airtight tube. Think of an airplane combined with a subway system, but with Elon Musk in charge of it.
Musk has stated the Hyerloop’s top speed is 800 mph and would be most effective to link cities within 1,000 miles of each other. Musk’s proposed San Francisco to L.A. trip would cost $6 billion to make. It sounds like a big number, but its actually ten times less expensive than the planned California High-Speed Rail project, according to CNET.
Musk’s plan is to have the Hyperloop in a straight path, primarily following the California Interstate 5 Highway, as outlined in his proof-of-concept. And because the Hyperloop would be extremely lightweight compared to trains, Musk believes the whole system could rest on pylons instead of building bulky infrastructure. In fact, Hyperloop’s weight makes Musk think the project is more comparable to airplanes than trains.
It will be likely several years before this project starts moving and that’s just in the United States. We here at DailyXY would love to see a comparable project here in Canada. A Toronto to Montreal Hyperloop, perhaps? Get on it Elon.
