Musk unveils ‘Loop’ concept

Imagine stepping into a car-sized capsule in downtown Los Angeles and, 30 minutes later, emerging in San Francisco.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk yesterday unveiled a concept for a transport system he said would make the nearly 640km trip in half the time it takes an airplane.

The “Hyperloop” would use a large tube. Inside, capsules would float on air, travelling at over 1,100km/h. The air would be sucked by a powerful fan at the front and expelled at the rear.

Musk has said he’s too busy to oversee the Hyperloop. Instead, he hopes others will take it on.

Musk is co-founder of online payment firm PayPal, electric luxury car maker Tesla Motors and rocket-builder SpaceX.

He said he has fulfilled his commitment to publishing a design, and invites critical feedback to “see if the people can find ways to improve it… It does involve a tube, but not a vacuum tube.”

Canadian John Gardi posted online a few weeks ago: “I believe that Hyperloop is a modern-day version of the pneumatic tubes used in banks, stores, and industry to move money and small items over long distances or to other floors of a building.”

Musk responded, “Your guess is the closest I’ve seen anyone guess so far.”

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