

Elon Musk may build Hyperloop test track in Texas - _mulder_
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30849171

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nickkthequick
At this point I've read 2 stories that had little to nothing to contribute
past those two tweets that Elon Musk wrote. They don't even link to the actual
tweets so that I can read what other discussion might have happened/click the
link that he has in his second tweet.

These types of stories are extremely frustrating, they're basically TMZ for
tech. I feel like there are very few publications that are willing to publish
real stories any more, not just the minimum work that will get clicks. I used
to think the BBC was one of them.

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melling
Elon should partner with China. They have 10,000 miles of high-speed rail and
a maglev $1.2b 19 mile maglev. The distance between Beijing and Shanghai is
800 miles, which would be perfect for the Hyperloop.

Building the first one in China then the second in the US would be faster than
building the first one in the US.

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loceng
Rushing technology development opens up for increased possibility for failures
or mistakes. There's no rush to develop the Hyperloop.

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melling
It could take 10 years or it could take 20 years. Wouldn't 10 years be better
for everyone? China has a "can do" attitude. We seem to have a lot of
obstacles in the US. Attitude is definitely one of them. The Manhattan project
and the Kennedy moon challenge couldn't be done today. A skunkworks
methodology goes a long way:

[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_Works](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_Works)

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loceng
The way it seems to best get things done is have an economic benefit that
competes with the status quo, and then those who control mass amounts of money
will put their money into it to then gain long-term via profits - which
unfortunately then makes the cost higher that would otherwise be lower if it
was government-people funded first.

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melling
Yes that's why I gave you China's motivation. It would connect their two
largest cities and China is a big believer in high-speed mass transit.

~~~
loceng
Good point. China has money to spend in comparison to the U.S. - most of the
money the U.S. has spent has been on war, while China's been collecting money
from the world. It will be interesting to watch how the landscape shifts in
the next few decades.

