T
he Hyperloop brings with it not only a futuristic name but also a travel experience that trumps transport means which are fast becoming outdated. Championed as a solar-powered, elevated transit system capable of taking people (and cars) from Los Angeles to San Francisco in only 30 minutes, the Hyperloop is the brain child of Elon Musk. The billionaire is no stranger to vehicle innovation as the CEO of electric car company Tesla Motors and space exploration venture SpaceX. As a strong advocate of transport improvement Musk unveiled plans for the Hyperloop in response to his dismay at California’s high-speed rail line plans. Construction on the $70 billion project is set to begin later this year, with plans to link cities from San Diego to Sacramento by 2029. But it’s a project that Musk insists is not providing the way forward but rather signifies a backward step in transportation. “How could it be that the home of Silicon Valley and JPL would build a bullet train that is both one of the most expensive per mile and one of the slowest in the world?” In order to justify such an investment Musk says a new system should yield results that are equally as massive including being “Safer, faster, lower cost, more convenient, immune to weather, sustainably self-powering” and have little to no disruption to those along the route. His solution for this situation is the Hyperloop.