PayPal founder Elon Musk has revealed his plans for a new mode of transport, The Hyperloop, which will transport travellers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in pods that can reach 800mph.
The plans for the high speed, self-powered form of transport is set to cost around $6bn to build, were revealed by Musk last night, although he failed to outline a timescale for the plan.
Musk has previously mentioned that the Hyperloop would use solar power and described it as a “cross between Concorde, a rail run and an air hockey table.”
In an interview with Business Week, Musk revealed: “The pods will ride on air bearings. The pod produces air, and it’s pumped out of little holes on these skis. This is something that is used quite a bit in industry. You can move huge, heavy objects with very low friction, using air bearings. In the consumer sense, people would be familiar with air hockey tables, except in this case the air bearings are being generated by the pod itself, as opposed to the tube.”Musk has also been responsible for SpaceX, his self-funded space programme and electric vehicle business Tesla Motors.
