Virgin Hyperloop's Historic Pod is Going to the Smithsonian

[Belize]

Yep - totally failed idea. All those companies and cities and states and countries are just along for the ride. /s

It's so weird that four separate companies are working on this failed idea, and achieving milestones to boot. And the Smithsonian - they're obviously in on the scam as well, right?

Why do you call it a failed idea when it keeps moving forward?

The F-35 project kept moving forward for years until someone recently admitted "Haha, woops ya'll were right, it's a piece of shit". It's been worked on for... What, 20 years now???

I can't wait to read about the newest hyperloop test in 2035 and how it's really close to being real guys, seriously.

[Magical Mudcrab]

The vacuum-sealed pod transit system, outlined in a 2013 white paper by Elon Musk, is set to feature in an upcoming Arts and Industries Building exhibition themed around the future, Inverse can reveal. Visitors to the Smithsonian’s Futures exhibition, which starts in November 2021 and marks the institute’s 175th anniversary, will see Virgin Hyperloop’s Pegasus XP-2 pod up close for the first time.

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Oh yes, the Hyperloop. The idea that Elon yoinked from the early 1900's, was never made as intended because as intended was stupid, and has now successfully made the worst high-speed rail train. 100 mph on a 500 meter track? Wow. Certainly a useful invention when conventional high-speed trains already go upwards of 300 mph. What a wonderful invention.

(The sarcasm isn't aimed at you cubby, more the article as everyone and their dog seems to love Elon)

[cubby]

The F-35 project kept moving forward for years until someone recently admitted "Haha, woops ya'll were right, it's a piece of shit". It's been worked on for... What, 20 years now???

I can't wait to read about the newest hyperloop test in 2035 and how it's really close to being real guys, seriously.

Remind me again - is there an operating F35 now?

I could easily see their timeline being pushed out that far and more.

[Edge-]

Remind me again - is there an operating F35 now?

I could easily see their timeline being pushed out that far and more.

I mean...it failed at what it was designed to be: A cheaper, lightweight stealth fighter. It's a big, expensive stealth fighter that's not terribly useful for everyday operations as it was supposed to be. Which is why the Air Force is looking for a new solution, and planning to spin down use of the F35's they have now (apparently a few hundred vs. the 1,800+ they planned to have).

It's functionally the equivalent of a city rolling out hyperloop, it does nothing it was actually designed to do and lacks any real practical application. It's not a good comparison for hyperloop, it's a bad comparison for hyperloop.

[PC2]

The F-35 project kept moving forward for years until someone recently admitted "Haha, woops ya'll were right, it's a piece of shit". It's been worked on for... What, 20 years now???

I can't wait to read about the newest hyperloop test in 2035 and how it's really close to being real guys, seriously.

I think that's a pre-mature comparison at this point. Based on what I read the absolute total cost of the F-35 is expected to be $1,500 billion. Virgin + Boring investments only add up to maybe $1.5 billion right now, so even if that rises to $15 billion by the year 2035 it's still two orders of magnitude away from the F-35 at that point.

Also it's not like Richard Branson and Elon Musk are taxing us to fund their companies so it's not coming out of our pockets.

[Belize]

Remind me again - is there an operating F35 now?

I could easily see their timeline being pushed out that far and more.

Did they replace the fleet of F-16 like they were designed to do?

No?

Then the project was a failure. Just because it's forever stuck in development hell and isn't officially cancelled doesn't mean it's not a failed idea. Or look at Duke Nukem Forever. Vaporware for 15 years, and a big failed piece of shit when it came out.

There's nothing the Hyperloop can do that a maglev bullet train like the Shinkansens can't do for cheaper and safer. It's just that bullet trains aren't as exciting as Elon Musk hyping yet another of his projects.

[Elegiac]

Did they replace the fleet of F-16 like they were designed to do?

No?

Then the project was a failure. Just because it's forever stuck in development hell and isn't officially cancelled doesn't mean it's not a failed idea. Or look at Duke Nukem Forever. Vaporware for 15 years, and a big failed piece of shit when it came out.

There's nothing the Hyperloop can do that a maglev bullet train like the Shinkansens can't do for cheaper and safer. It's just that bullet trains aren't as exciting as Elon Musk hyping yet another of his projects.

These days, railroad construction simply doesn't gas up investors in the same way that promising a futurist startup project every other year that either reinvents the wheel or never materializes does.

[Belize]

These days, railroad construction simply doesn't gas up investors in the same way that promising a futurist startup project every other year that either reinvents the wheel or never materializes does.

I still love the story of Lyft re-inventing the bus but pitching it as a big tech innovation, and how tech mouthpieces try to point out that they're totally not like buses, because they're cars.

[Zuben]

The ones investing in Hyperloop are capitalists, who are stingier with their money than your everyman. E.g. Richard Branson is a transport industry veteran, who ought to know if the whole thing was snake oil.

My take is that the tech itself is feasible enough to work, but the real question is if it can be scaled up at a reasonable cost. Once they have a proper prototype up and running they have a better idea what it requires and so on. At that point the investors will either let it go forward or call it off.

Commercial airplanes can go 400+ MPH but it'd also be cool to have the same option below ground.

And especially without the extra time airports, security checks etc. demand. If the whole thing is as fast as jumping into a train then it'll be a game-changer. Let's hope the big money behind its development knows what it's doing.

[Fargus]

It is idiocy and anti-logical to conclude "well if multiple areas are doing it, then it must be good"

Did you not watch the fucking monorail episode?

He's completely dishonest. He says "dozens" when it's only several municipalities around the world. And then again, they haven't even started building it yet... no feasibility studies from a lot of these places (India cancelled recently).

[Forogil]

The ones investing in Hyperloop are capitalists, who are stingier with their money than your everyman. E.g. Richard Branson is a transport industry veteran, who ought to know if the whole thing was snake oil.

Branson also knows the value of marketing, and the hype of "Virgin Hyperloop" can be seen as marketing for other Virgin products.
And it is unclear how much Virgin have invested in it (the leading investor seems to be Dubai-based).

My take is that the tech itself is feasible enough to work, but the real question is if it can be scaled up at a reasonable cost. Once they have a proper prototype up and running they have a better idea what it requires and so on. At that point the investors will either let it go forward or call it off.

Or they will just have some slightly modified normal high-speed train; having used the hype of hyperloop to get good contracts for land usage.

And especially without the extra time airports, security checks etc. demand. If the whole thing is as fast as jumping into a train then it'll be a game-changer.

Security checks at airports are needed due to the risk and publicity of an exploding bomb. Saying that it's not needed for a new high speed train in vacuum seems like hubris.

[Verdugo]

Total scam and snake oil - which is why so many companies are cashing in on it with dozens of cities & countries forking over their cash. /s

Have you noticed who was elected president 4 years ago and still holds undeserved amount of popularity? Argumentum ad populum... you should know that fallacy.

[cubby]

Did they replace the fleet of F-16 like they were designed to do?

No?

Then the project was a failure. Just because it's forever stuck in development hell and isn't officially cancelled doesn't mean it's not a failed idea. Or look at Duke Nukem Forever. Vaporware for 15 years, and a big failed piece of shit when it came out.

There's nothing the Hyperloop can do that a maglev bullet train like the Shinkansens can't do for cheaper and safer. It's just that bullet trains aren't as exciting as Elon Musk hyping yet another of his projects.

I tend to agree with you regarding the financial aspect of it. One thing the Hyperloop has over the maglev train is real estate - since it's underground, you don't have all the legal issues with eminent domain confiscating millions of acres of public and private land. Also, I think the Hyperloop is faster.

- - - Updated - - -

The ones investing in Hyperloop are capitalists, who are stingier with their money than your everyman. E.g. Richard Branson is a transport industry veteran, who ought to know if the whole thing was snake oil.

My take is that the tech itself is feasible enough to work, but the real question is if it can be scaled up at a reasonable cost. Once they have a proper prototype up and running they have a better idea what it requires and so on. At that point the investors will either let it go forward or call it off.

And especially without the extra time airports, security checks etc. demand. If the whole thing is as fast as jumping into a train then it'll be a game-changer. Let's hope the big money behind its development knows what it's doing.

I agree with everything you've said above. The cost and scale-up factors will be the make or break issues. Hyperloop could revolutionize long-distance "ground" transportation, especially if it's easy to get on/off, and can transport a great many people at one time (i.e. max capacity overall, not per Pod).

- - - Updated - - -

He's completely dishonest. He says "dozens" when it's only several municipalities around the world. And then again, they haven't even started building it yet... no feasibility studies from a lot of these places (India cancelled recently).

Me? You can go pound sand with your accusations. I have NEVER been dishonest in this forum - ever. We're having a real conversation about a global project and your lies and trolling aren't contributing to the conversation at all.

You either find and link the post you think I was "completely dishonest about" or you apologize.

- - - Updated - - -

Have you noticed who was elected president 4 years ago and still holds undeserved amount of popularity? Argumentum ad populum... you should know that fallacy.

Sure - if we were discussing politics. But this kind of "popularity" is based on financial investment, and in doing that, through so many cities/states/countries, that "popularity" adds significant credit to the feasibility. It falls outside the fallacy because it's not based entirely pure "popularity".

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(1)Branson also knows the value of marketing, and the hype of "Virgin Hyperloop" can be seen as marketing for other Virgin products.
And it is unclear how much Virgin have invested in it (the leading investor seems to be Dubai-based).

(2)Or they will just have some slightly modified normal high-speed train; having used the hype of hyperloop to get good contracts for land usage.

(3)Security checks at airports are needed due to the risk and publicity of an exploding bomb. Saying that it's not needed for a new high speed train in vacuum seems like hubris.

1. Marketing is something Branson knows, but this is actively paying for and building something. I would argue that Branson putting money into himself means he believes something will come of it.

2. The land usage is key here - because they cannot change the land use from underground to above ground - those are entire different useages and legal contracts. Sure, Hyperloop will need above ground stations, but the majority of the "real estate" will be underground. To pivot to above ground would effectively nullify the entire endeavor, because they can't grab that same land. I'm not saying this very well.

3. Good point.

[Fargus]

I
Me? You can go pound sand with your accusations. I have NEVER been dishonest in this forum - ever. We're having a real conversation about a global project and your lies and trolling aren't contributing to the conversation at all.

Dozens of countries yet you can't name them. The reason being is because there aren't 24 countries starting up Hyperloop projects. The word "dozens" implies at least 24. The only logical conclusion is that you're deliberately inflating the numbers; numbers that aren't even real. That's where you're being dishonest. By fudging the numbers up.

[cubby]

Dozens of countries yet you can't name them. The reason being is because there aren't 24 countries starting up Hyperloop projects. The word "dozens" implies at least 24. The only logical conclusion is that you're deliberately inflating the numbers; numbers that aren't even real. That's where you're being dishonest. By fudging the numbers up.

I have, several times, just for you - in other threads when you've asked. Just because you are President of the Musk Haters Club doesn't make the reality of your misunderstanding any less real. Go back and look for yourself - I'm not doing your work for you again.

For those not familiar with Fargus' posting history - he HATES Musk, and anything related. If you want proof, go look at his posting history - the last few months, over half his posts have been irrational lashing outs over Musk. It's hysterical.

[Belize]

I tend to agree with you regarding the financial aspect of it. One thing the Hyperloop has over the maglev train is real estate - since it's underground, you don't have all the legal issues with eminent domain confiscating millions of acres of public and private land. Also, I think the Hyperloop is faster.

There's nothing stopping bullet trains from running underground. South Korea already has two sections of maglev with 60 and 50 KM tunnels respectively and Japan's Shinkansen's new Nagoya to Osaka rail will be like 80+% underground. And they've already opened their tunnel to Hokkaido a couple years ago.

Like, I know Hyperloop is a fun a crazy idea, but there's so many more practical solutions to public transport.

[Forogil]

1. Marketing is something Branson knows, but this is actively paying for and building something. I would argue that Branson putting money into himself means he believes something will come of it.

My point is that we don't know how much money - despite being named 'Virgin Hyperloop' it is not the top investor.

2. The land usage is key here - because they cannot change the land use from underground to above ground - those are entire different useages and legal contracts. Sure, Hyperloop will need above ground stations, but the majority of the "real estate" will be underground. To pivot to above ground would effectively nullify the entire endeavor, because they can't grab that same land. I'm not saying this very well.

The original Hyperloop design was primarily above ground. See table 3-6 in the White Paper.

- - - Updated - - -

There's nothing stopping bullet trains from running underground. South Korea already has two sections of maglev with 60 and 50 KM tunnels respectively and Japan's Shinkansen's new Nagoya to Osaka rail will be like 80+% underground. And they've already opened their tunnel to Hokkaido a couple years ago.

And Virgin Hyperloop is citing new Federal Railroad guidance that discusses hyperloop using maglev.
To me it seems likely that if we see Hyperloop it will just be re-branded bullet trains.

[Edge-]

And Virgin Hyperloop is citing new Federal Railroad guidance that discusses hyperloop using maglev.
To me it seems likely that if we see Hyperloop it will just be re-branded bullet trains.

Except way more technically challenging (with tons of problems still left so solve), and more expensive, and less practical. About the only thing it has going for it based on where it's at and where it's likely to be in the near-term future, it's an interesting tech to continue pursuing but there really aren't any practical applications that aren't done just as effectively, and cheaper, via traditional methods a la bullet trains.

I've been looking into it more lately, and while there may be a future a longer ways off, right now it functionally looks like the Juicero.

[Belize]

And it only runs at 1/2 the speed!

And it doesn't require perfect vacuum to be maintained in order to avoid a catastrophic failure that would kill basically everyone in the breached loop.

Sounds like a good compromise to me but what do I know

[breadisfunny]

Dang you guys are super mad that elon musk invented the subway.

the subway was invented decades before musk was even born. did you just fall asleep in basic history class when they discussed new york's extensive subway construction in the late 1800's and early 1900's?