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A startup is raising $80 million to make Elon Musk's insane Hyperloop fantasy a reality
Elon Musk's dream of a Hyperloop is a step closer to becoming reality, according to
The Hyperloop is Musk's plan for a land-based transportation system that makes a bullet train look like an old steam locomotive.
Musk has said he's working on a Hyperloop test track, probably in Texas.
But Hyperloop Technologies, a startup led by Uber investor Shervin Pishevar and Brogan BamBrogan, who used to work at Musk's private space company SpaceX, is building its own test track for the Hyperloop.
Musk originally wanted the Hyperloop to run between LA and San Francisco, but these guys are thinking it woudl run between California and Las Vegas, if it gets built.
Tesla's CEO also envisioned the Hyperloop as passenger transport, but it seems Pishevar is more interested in moving freight at high speeds, rather than people.
Hyperloop Technologies' big breakthrough came after a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who said he would introduce the company's execs to a Nevada businessman who owns a 150-mile lane from Vegas to the The Golden State.
The next challenge for Hyperloop Technologies is fundraising for the test track. The company has $8.5 million in the bank with plans to raise $80 million in 2015. Musk, however, says $6 to $10 billion would be needed to produce a 400-mile Hyperloop.
There are also technical barriers, like powering the Hyperloop. BamBrogan thinks it won't be able to run on solar power alone.
All these hoops to jump through mean there's no telling when the Hyperloop will be ready to shuttle us around the country. But if Pishevar's optimism is any indicator, we could be looking at the future of transportation.
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