Hyperloop Hype Explained: Inside Tesla Motors Founder Elon Musk New Plan To Create New High-Speed Mass Transit Option For San Francisco And LA

Elon Musk, the Tesla Motors founder, wants to build a much-hyped Hyperloop between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The new high-speed mass transit system is unlike anything previously seen.

The Hyperloop is described as "a cross between a Concord, a rail gun and an air hockey table" by Musk. And it's a pretty accurate description, as analogies go.

Essentially, the Hyperloop is a pneumatic tube that would whoosh travelers under California...and to infinity and beyond.

As Musk revealed the plans for the Hyperloop, he tweeted

"Pulled all nighter working on Hyperloop (as did others). Hopefully, not too many mistakes."

Musk's hyperloop may be a new way to travel, but it harkens back to the Jetsons at the same time. The 57-page design plan was published on both Tesla Motors's and SpaceX's blogs as a PDF available for download.

Elon Musk's proposal estimates that the cost of the Hyperloop project be between $6 billion and $7.5 billion. This variability is due to whether the high-speed train would ship cargo or just passengers.

The biggest issue in the Hyperloop pneumatic tube system is the Kantrowitz limit, which regards pressure and limits how fast a pod can travel within the tube.

"If the walls of the tube and the capsule are too close together, the capsule will behave like a syringe and eventually be forced to push the entire column of air in the system," the proposal says. "Not good."

Musk plans to mount a large fan to the nose of the pod that would take high pressure and divert it towards the rear, ensuring faster speeds.

There's already an approved California high speed rail system in plans, but Musk called the plans "a bullet train that is both one of the most expensive per mile and one of the slowest in the world."

TheCalifornia High Speed Rail Authority responded by saying "new technology ideas are always worth consideration...We'll be happy to share our experience about what it really takes to build a project in California."

This is, perhaps, a bit of a burn-or an implication that Musk has no idea what it really takes-but it's also not an outright dismissal.

Musk is cool with feedback, though.

"Hyperloop is considered an open-source transportation concept," he said. "The authors encourage all members of the community to contribute to the Hyperloop design ... to help bring Hyperloop from an idea to a reality."

What do you think of the Hyperloop plan?