SpaceX recently dismantled the hyperloop test tunnel in Hawthorne, California, and plans to convert the open space into a parking lot for SpaceX employees. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that Hyperloop is a low-cost rapid transit that allows people to travel quickly and cheaply.
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To this end, it has built a technology test site for the hyperloop at SpaceX’s campus in Hawthorne, California. The test tunnel was reportedly taken out of service earlier this year. The Boring Company, a tunneling company led by Musk, has said that hyperloop technology could even allow passengers to move through underground tunnels at more than 600 miles per hour (about 965 kilometers per hour) in electric cabins, from Washington, D.C. in 30 minutes.
Musk has been talking about the technology’s promise since the release of the Hyperloop white paper in 2013. At an event in Hawthorne, Calif., in 2018, Musk said the Hyperloop could take people from Hawthorne to Los Angeles at 150 miles per hour for just $1 per trip. While there are still hyperloop elements on The Boring Company website, so far the hyperloop to Los Angeles has not been built.
In April, The Boring Company tweeted that it would begin “full” testing of the Hyperloop sometime this year. The Boring Company has built a completely different network of tunnels under Las Vegas than Hyperloop, through which passengers can ride in Tesla electric vehicles.
Virgin Hyperloop, which competes with The Boring Company, reportedly abandoned the idea of using hyperloop technology to transport passengers earlier this year, focusing instead on delivering goods.
