Several companies subsequently announced plans for pilot projects in California, Texas and other locations, but Musk and his companies, which include privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, and Tesla Motors Inc electric auto company, were not involved. The environment inside this tube is filled with low pressure that is similar to an airplane in high altitudes.
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The capsule will essentially ride on a cushion of air that will be propelled by a magnetic linear accelerator which will be running above or below the ground under low pressure steel tubes, according to Musk.
The ultimate in train travel has finally been conceived with Elon Musk’s Hyperloop project, a very ambitious project, aimed at nothing but the most modern and the very best mode of transportation that would be faster than a bullet train.
In a recent interview with Reuters, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies CEO Dirk Ahlborn explained what could happen on one of these pods.
Musk revealed his plans for the futuristic Hyperloop in 2013, describing it as a combination of a Concorde, a rail gun, and an air-hockey table. Another advantage of this tube is that it is solar powered and do not have to use up depleting energy sources.
Last month, SpaceX announced that it would be building a mile long test track in their headquarters in California where it will host a competition for students and engineering teams to design the transport pods.
The team behind the big plans are not afraid of thinking outside of potential boxes.
The project has crowdsourced talent and labor, involving many individuals, organizations and companies, which is what has allowed the project to move forward so quickly.
The company is looking to bring in more strategic partners and is also looking at sponsorship opportunities as a way to fund development of the, Ahlborn said. “Anywhere we go people are just excited and people want to be a part of it”. Perhaps bee hives, different energy solutions, gardens or something else will enhance the experience and encourage anyone needing to live next to a concrete pylon to accept and even welcome their new “neighbor”.
“Quay Valley is going to be full scale, we’re going to move around 10 million people a year, it’s going to be opening up in 2018”, Musk told Reuters.
“So we assume right now that in 2017 we will be finished with the building process and basically starting to do the optimization and testing before we open”.
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With a strong business model that Ahlborn says makes the railway industry look like a dinosaur, the cost, safety and reliability of Hyperloop could provide an environmental model for future, lightning fast transport.
