Elon Musk’s insane Hyperloop transport system is coming soon to a difficult-to-pronounce European city near you
Hyperloop, the so-crazy-it-might-just-work ultra-speedy transportation system invented by Tesla founder and general mad professor Elon Musk, took another step forward today, after three European cities signed a deal to start exploring the technology.
By Musk's reckoning, the system, which is essentially a giant vacuum tube, will suck pods through its tunnels at 760mph, cutting the three-hour train journey between New York and Washington DC down to just half an hour.
Today Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) said it has signed a deal with the Czech city of Brno (pronounced "Brr-no") to explore creating links to Bratislava, in Slovakia – the first time those behind the technology have considered crossing a border.
Eventually it hopes the line will stretch to Prague – which would cut the two-and-a-half hour, 127-mile journey from Brno to Prague down to about 12 minutes.
“Since we have solved all the technical issues, it is now crucial for us to collaborate with governments around the world,” said HTT chief executive Dirk Ahlborn.
“It is critical for Hyperloop to be working directly with regulators at this stage of development, new rules and frameworks will need to be written as we begin building out systems in Slovakia, the Emirates and several other to come.”
Safety first
Last year HTT said it had invented a new, super-safe smart material to make its pods out of.
Vibranium is eight times stronger than aluminium and 10 times stronger than steel, and will transmit information about the pods' temperature, stability, integrity "and more".
No word yet on when exactly Hyperloop will get off the ground, but HTT said it is in discussions with governments in California, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Brno and Slovakia.