On July 20 Elon Musk tweeted that he had “just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop. NY-DC in 29 mins.” Musk added that the hyper loop would run from “city center to city center in each case, with up to a dozen or more entry/exit elevators in each city.”
Earlier this year, Musk launched the tunnel-digging company The Boring Company, which has also taken on a project to build tunnels under Los Angeles.
Though apparently Musk plans to be involved in digging the tunnel for the hyperloop, he does not seem to have any plans to build the hyperloop himself. Musk has left the opportunity to other companies.
Numerous companies have arisen and are contending to develop the necessary technology to build the Hyperloop. One such company, Hyperloop One, claims that hyperloop technology will prove faster and cheaper than high-speed rail.
How exactly would the proposed hyperloop allow people to travel between New York City and Washington, D.C., a distance of over 200 miles, in under half an hour? Magnetic levitation through evacuated tunnels — that’s the idea behind hyperloop transportation. Since there is very little friction or air resistance, trains can travel at very high speeds through vacuum tunnels.
In a follow-up tweet, Musk added: “Still a lot of work needed to receive formal approval, but am optimistic that will occur rapidly.”
The White House admits to having had “promising conversations” on the topic, but it has not yet publicly stated its approval or disapproval of the project.
In a qualifying statement, The Boring Company also admitted to “promising conversations” and claimed they had “received verbal support from key government decision-makers for tunneling plans.” They expect to have official support, they claim, by the end of the year.
Since the plans have not yet been finalized, Musk called for people to contact their government representatives in support of the hyperloop.
Many people think that plans are long overdue for better public transport across the U.S. However, there remain plenty of others who doubt we’ve attained the necessary technology to build the hyperloop. They worry that the project would almost certainly exceed its budget and become too expensive to feasibly carry out.
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