\n<\/p>\n
In 2013, Elon Musk published a <\/span>white paper<\/span><\/a> that teased the idea of zipping from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just 35 minutes through a vacuum-sealed tube \u2014 a system he called hyperloop. The idea \u201coriginated out of his hatred for California\u2019s proposed high-speed rail system,\u201d <\/span>according<\/span><\/a> to his biographer Ashlee Vance.<\/span><\/p>\n Ten years later, the most high-profile startup that tried to follow in Musk\u2019s footsteps \u2014 Hyperloop One \u2014 is <\/span>closing its doors<\/span><\/a>. And the news of its demise broke less than two weeks after the Biden administration <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> $6 billion in funding for high-speed rail projects across California.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s a big win for public transit advocates, many of whom have spent decades stumping for not just high-speed rail, but better rail service overall. (Biden\u2019s announcement also included funding for a <\/span>slew of other rail projects around the country<\/span><\/a>.) But it\u2019s not a clean victory by any means.<\/span><\/p>\n For one thing, many cities and states were lulled by the hyperloop siren song and were subsequently left adrift. I still vividly remember reporting out a story in 2018 about the collapse of Arrivo (another hyperloop startup created by one of Hyperloop One\u2019s co-founders) and calling Colorado\u2019s Department of Transportation to ask about the company going under, only to realize on the call <\/span>they had no idea it had happened<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Colorado was not alone. Hyperloop One once promised West Virginia that it would build <\/span>a $500 million test and certification facility<\/span><\/a> in the state. It also built a test track near Las Vegas where it did, briefly, move some people through a tube \u2014 enough of an accomplishment, apparently, for then-CEO Jay Walder to <\/span>claim<\/span><\/a> it was the \u201cfirst new form of mass transportation in over 100 years.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Other hyperloop projects and companies remain, though largely outside of the United States. Thankfully this country was already building momentum back up for investing in its rail system, with a focus on faster trains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The most high-profile effort is Brightline, a company that recently extended its existing service in Florida <\/span>all the way to Orlando<\/span><\/a>, allowing passengers to travel there from as far as Miami.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Brightline is also building what it calls \u201cthe nation\u2019s first true high-speed rail network\u201d between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. That project received $3 billion of the funding recently announced by the Biden administration, and is expected to break ground in early 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n Building high-speed rail will take more than just money. There are <\/span>deeply rooted problems<\/span><\/a> standing in the way stemming from years of deregulation. Projects of this size also struggle to stay on time and on budget. The <\/span>other <\/span><\/i>big recipient of the newly announced federal funding \u2014 another $3 billion \u2014 is a high-speed rail project slated to run the spine of California that was the original source of Musk\u2019s ire.<\/span><\/p>\n Could high-speed rail\u2019s revival run the risk of a rematch with the world\u2019s richest man? Perhaps, though train fans can take solace in how distracted Musk has become since that 2013 white paper.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Besides, outside of a handful of engineering contests held by SpaceX, Musk only ever entertained his own hyperloop projects at a superficial level.<\/span><\/p>\n Musk once tweeted that he had \u201cverbal govt approval\u201d to <\/span>build<\/span><\/a> \u201can underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop.\u201d It was never built.\u00a0<\/span>In April 2022 he <\/span>claimed<\/span><\/a> his tunneling effort The Boring Company would \u201cattempt to build a working hyperloop.\u201d The following day the company <\/span>tweeted<\/span><\/a> \u201cHyperloop testing at full-scale begins later this year.\u201d That also never happened.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Musk spent the last decade barely engaging with the hyperloop, essentially outsourcing his attempt to kill high-speed rail. With Hyperloop One\u2019s death casting a pall on that premise, it looks increasingly like the billionaire has a decision to make: Does he care enough to find the time to finish the job himself?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n