Elon Musk just brought his Hyperloop project one step closer to reality.
The Tesla Motors founder said Thursday he intends to build a testing facility for the ultra-fast transportation system. The five-mile track would most likely be in Texas, Musk said in a tweet.
Will be building a Hyperloop test track for companies and student teams to test out their pods. Most likely in Texas.
Musk’s Hyperloop would involve strapping passengers into pods, or a train, and shooting them through a tube at warp-speed to their destination. In theory, a 500-mile trip between San Francisco and Los Angeles would take less than an hour.
Musk, whose projects include luxury electric car company Tesla, the private space flight company Space X, and solar power installer SolarCity, first laid out his audacious vision for a Hyperloop 18 months ago. Since then, he’s remained mostly silent about the topic while focusing on his day jobs.
But on Thursday Musk addressed the topic once again on stage at the Texas Transportation Forum, and then in a series of tweets. He said in a tweet that his Hyperloop track would be open to other companies and students “to test out their pods.” He also mused about holding an annual student “pod racer” competition. Musk did not mention whether his track would merely serve as an open test-bed, or whether he would also try out his own ideas there.
In addition to discussing the Hyperloop project, Musk said he had donated $10 million to the Future of Life Institute, to ensure that artificial intelligence is “beneficial to humanity.” His concern is that robots could one day be smart and independent enough to rise up against humans, like in the plot of a pulp science fiction novel.
“It is best to prepare for, to try to prevent a negative circumstance from occurring, than to wait for it to occur and then be reactive,” Musk said in a video posted on the institute’s website.
SpaceX embarked on its first deep space mission with the launch of this Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 11, 2015 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., after two previous failed attempts. Onboard is the Deep Space Climate Observatory, which will head 1 million miles from Earth to watch for incoming geomagnetic storms that could trigger power outages on our planet.John Raoux—APOn May 29, 2014, SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk (not pictured) unveiled the company's first manned spacecraft, Dragon V2, at a press conference in Hawthorne, Calif., on May 29, 2014.SpaceXA rocket carrying the SpaceX Dragon ship lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on April 18, 2014.John Raoux—APFalcon 9 awaits its upcoming launch in SpaceX's hangar with landing legs attached on March 12, 2014.SpaceXSpaceX's Falcon 9 launches with Thailand’s Thaicom 6 satellite aboard, on Jan. 6, 2014 from Cape CanaveralSpaceXSpaceX's Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral, on Nov. 28, 2013.SpaceXSpaceX's Falcon 9 rolls out of the hangar on Nov. 28, 2013.SpaceXA Falcon 9 rocket carrying a small science satellite for Canada is launched from a newly refurbished launch pad in Vandenberg Air Force Station in California, on Sept. 29, 2013. Gene Blevins—ReutersSpaceX's reusable rocket prototype, Grasshopper, completes a 1,066-ft. (325 meter) hop on June 14, 2013 before landing back on the pad.SpaceXA SpaceX component preparing for testing in the world's largest vacuum chamber at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.SpaceXSpaceX's Dragon on the recovery boat on April 13, 2013.NASASpaceX's Dragon is grappled by the International Space Station on April 13, 2013.NASASpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket leaves the hangar at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 8, 2013.SpaceXNine Merlin engines for the inaugural Falcon 9 flight, ready to be installed in the booster, on March 8, 2013.SpaceXFrom left: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk view the Dragon capsule that returned to Earth on May 31, 2012 following the first successful mission by a private company to carry supplies to the International Space Station, at the SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas, on June 13, 2012.Bill Ingalls—NASA/ReutersSpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule floats in the Pacific Ocean off of Baja California on May 31, 2012. SpaceX/ReutersSpaceX's Dragon commercial cargo craft is berthed to the International Space Station on May 25, 2012. NASA/ReutersA Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft blasts off from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, on May 22, 2012.Red Huber—MCT/Getty ImagesThe SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on May 22, 2012.Pierre Ducharme—ReutersSpaceX'S Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lift off from Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral, on Dec. 8, 2010.NASA—Gamma-Rapho/Getty ImagesFrom left: President Barack Obama and Head of SpaceX Elon Musk tour Cape Canaveral, on April 15, 2010.Jim Young—ReutersOn April 22, 2008, Musk's company landed NASA's launch services contract for Falcon 1 and 9 rockets. Here, the SpaceX factory in Los Angeles is shown on Nov. 21, 2008.Dan Tuffs—Getty Images
