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You'd better get that in writing:
A plan to build an ultrafast Hyperloop [
One] tube train has been given "verbal [government] approval" to connect large cities on the East Coast, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk says. He adds that the system would whisk passengers from New York to Washington, D.C., in 29 minutes.After his tweet about the plan set off intense interest, Musk added a clarification, stating, "Still a lot of work needed to receive formal approval, but am optimistic that will occur rapidly."
We're seeking more details from Musk and his companies that are involved in the Hyperloop project — from the vehicle unit to the Boring Co., which would dig the tunnels. He did not specify, for instance, which agency had given its approval or when construction might begin.
Engineers who are working on the project have the goal of sending pods through a tube at speeds of more than 700 mph, using magnetic levitation and an electric motor in a vacuum environment.
The Boring Company's mundane tunneling plans may have been a red herring to distract from underground Hyperloop development.
Is this how Muskmania dies? With an undeliverable promise of multi-billion dollar infrastructure? Or will Musk deliver a transportation system faster than the highest-speed rail, create the world's most valuable car company, and build a Hyperloop on Mars designed to transport him from the ice caps to his throne (crafted from the disinterred bones of Steve Jobs) at Olympus Mons?
n1 writes:
A White House spokesman said there had been "promising conversations to date" with Musk and Boring Company executives but would only say the administration is “committed to transformative infrastructure projects, and believe our greatest solutions have often come from the ingenuity and drive of the private sector.”
Several spokespeople who answered the phones at relevant city, state and federal government bodies laughed upon hearing of the claim that an interstate transit project with a significant street-level footprint in four of the east coast’s largest cities could be approved verbally.
“Who gave him permission to do that?” asked a spokesman with the Maryland department of transportation.
“Elon Musk has had no contact with Philadelphia officials on this matter,” said Mike Dunn, the city spokesman. “We do not know what he means when he says he received ‘verbal government approval’. There are numerous hurdles for this ‘hyperloop’ technology before it can become reality.”
A spokesperson for the state of Pennsylvania confirmed that neither the governor nor the state’s department of transportation had been contacted by Musk or his company.
Ben Sarle, a spokesman for the New York City mayor’s office, said in an email: “Nobody in City Hall, or any of our city agencies, has heard from Mr Musk or any representatives of his company.”
The Guardian article [emphasis added] continues on with quotes from government officials in New York, Washington DC and federal agencies who had similar statements.
This news comes the day after the SolarCity co-founder, Peter Rive announced his resignation. Lyndon Rive left the company in May. Tesla has been taking pre-orders for their new solar roof tiles since May. Installations were supposed to begin in June, but there has been no further news, functional product demonstrations or even technical specifications.
Earlier this week Elon Musk told the National Governors Association meeting that the solar roof for the Model 3 (or any car) was not practical and was an idea that would be "scrapped."
James Murdoch, Chief Executive Officer of 21st Century Fox and Linda Johnson Rice, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Publishing Company have joined the Tesla board of directors on Monday. Earlier this year, a letter from shareholders raised concerns about conflicts of interest among board members.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday July 21 2017, @05:44PM (12 children)
A "verbal approval" is only the start of 20 years of paperwork and lawsuits.
But, imagining that the start digging tomorrow, the math seems odd.
Spend a lot of billions digging tunnels, quite a few billion building stations, a lot of millions maintaining tunnel integrity and the vacuum, then get less than a thousand persons through per hour per tunnel? Dude could put his money into an updated Concorde instead, the tickets would be cheaper and the flexibility to expand much better.
Get that Boring company working on a tunnel under the Sepulveda Pass reserved for electric cars, that's a lot better use
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday July 21 2017, @05:47PM (6 children)
There's boring, and then there's infrastructure development.
20 years may be generous considering the technology is unproven at full scale.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by RamiK on Friday July 21 2017, @06:19PM (5 children)
Step 1: Dig a two-lane DC-NY tunnel.
Step 2: Sell hyperloop shares.
Step 3: Announce Tesla sales are plummeting. Halving Tesla stocks.
Step 4: Announce 1000km/h hyperloop doesn't work. Halving hyperloop and crashing Tesla shares.
Step 5: Buy Tesla shares.
Step 6: Ch.11. Crashing hyperloop shares.
Step 7: Buy hyperloop shares.
Step 8: Settle in court to deliver the next best high-speed rail.
Step 9: Announce a hyperloop-Tesla deal for the construction of a 600km/h high-speed electric rail. Tesla & hyperloop stocks skyrocket to an all time high.
Step 10: Deliver the same 400km/h electric rail all the Asian contractors been offering for the past 20 years at x10 the price.
Profit.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday July 21 2017, @10:38PM (4 children)
Those 400km/h trains won't work in a tunnel the way they do on the surface.
They will need lower pressure in the tunnel for a stable ride.
Watch out shares going south as the cost of transport makes it ineffective or the trains crash at 400 km/h in tunnels (or are forced to go slower)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @05:47AM (3 children)
Just digging some vents out every few feet with equalize the conditions with the surface. There are already high-speed 350km/h rails running in this fashion with new ones being built for 450km/h in Asia.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday July 22 2017, @06:50AM (2 children)
Vents... every few feet... in the middle of New York or Washington DC...
What can go wrong [biography.com] indeed?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @11:30AM
The train takes a while to built up speed and break anyhow so there won't be too many around the city stations. Or better yet:
1. Dig the vents.
2. Have people complain about them.
3. Shut the vents and reduce the speed pointing to the complaints as a reason to slow down the train even further.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @02:28PM
I don't see anything wrong in the linked picture
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday July 21 2017, @07:53PM (2 children)
Get that Boring company to work on tunnels under New Jersey for storing nuclear waste piling up at power plants.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday July 21 2017, @08:33PM (1 child)
> tunnels under New Jersey for storing nuclear waste
*Remembers Godzilla*
*Pictures giant mutated Chris Christie*
I'm glad there's the whole Midwest to stop it with as many nukes as it will take, before its gets to us...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday July 24 2017, @03:26PM
The word giant, and possibly the word mutated are redundant.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 21 2017, @09:34PM
Nobody cares about you west coast losers.
New York == Owners
Washington DC == Owners' Flunkies
Fast transport for the owners Trumps west coast morons every day of the week.
#MAGA
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday July 22 2017, @05:08PM
You're looking at the sums from the wrong direction, try: who is getting paid, who is doing the paying, and who controls the decisions? If the payees are in control of the decision and the payers are not, the project is a GO.
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