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hogwild  ·  3449 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: It's Official: SpaceX Is Building Elon Musk's Hyperloop

What good would the Hyperloop do anyone? It's not much more convenient than a flight, because the proposed Hyperloop stops are as far from SF and LA as the current public airports.

The Hyperloop was originally presented as a cheaper alternative to California's high speed rail project. Setting aside the overly optimistic estimates on the price of land in the middle of California, it doesn't even confront one of the primary expenses of the HSR: actually entering each city. Hyperloop would shave very little time off of the flight, taking the distance between the urban centers and the proposed stations, and likely wouldn't be worth the initial expense. Especially compared to well-tested high speed rail systems.

However, they're not actually building a public transit system, only a distraction from the infrastructure projects already underway. I'm totally in favor of proof-of-concept distractions.