elon musk reveals plans for hyperloop by tesla

billionare investor and paypal founder, elon musk has revealed plans for hyperloop, a solar-powered train that would connect commuters from los angeles to san francisco at the speed of sound. already the maverick CEO of tesla motors and space X, musk is seeking to improve on california’s 70 billion USD high-speed train project’s shortcomings; hyperloop would shorten travel time from 5 hours to 30 minutes with a series of 70 aluminum pods elevated on columns about 50- 100 yards apart. the above-ground modules would bullet through steel tubes at 800 miles an hour while avoiding the land rights complications projected for the california plans. 

updated august 21, 2013 – designboom has added a video of 3D printed models from studio whiteclouds, which gives more realistic insight to how the final system will look. to see the process, scroll down below.

hyperloop passenger capsule version cutaway with passengers onboard

sealed capsules to carry 28 passengers each, traveling along interior part of the tube depart on average every 2 minutes. sized to allow expansion as the network becomes more popular among commuters. the overall capacity of the transport system would transfer 840 passengers per hour, which sufficiently fulfills the the average 6 million people traveling between the two cities each year.

hyperloop passenger capsule version with doors open at the station

the capsules themselves measure 4.43ft in width (1.35m) and have a height of 6.11ft (1.10m), and will open on each side through the implementation of gull-wing (maybe sliding) doors, allowing easy access going in and out of the high-speed vehicle. in its entirety, the overall structural weight of the hyperloop is expected to be close to 6,800 lb (3,100kg), including the door mechanism and luggag compartments. the overall cost of the hyperloop passenger capsule, including manufacturing, is projected to cost no more than 275,000USD.

hyperloop capsule in the tube cutaway with attached solar arrays

overview of the hyperloop route from los angeles to san francisco

hyperloop passenger capsule subsystem notional locations (not to scale)

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