Hacker News Reader

Comment by pojzon | Hacker News Reader

> laying a dumb pre-manufactured pipe

Which is extremely expensive because it has to withstand huge forces trying to crush it like a an empty coke can..

Hyperloop is neighter "cheap" or "easy" to create. Its approx. 10 times as expensive to operate than "Mad-Lev" trains and 100000x as deadly if something goes wrong.

Malfunction in electric train means that it has to stop.

Malfunction in Hyperloop means all passangers are dead.

---

Watch Thunderf00t rant about hyperloop and read his sources. This project is nothing more than a scam to fetch investors money.

View on HN

>>This project is nothing more than a scam to fetch investors money.

I'm unaware of Musk asking for any particular investment in a Hyperloop project. Most Hyperloop projects are independent parties working on the idea on their own volition. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

You're wrong when you assumed it is Musk' scam, it is not. But the idea of hyperloop is used by many as a bait to scam away investors money.

Any investor should know what they're getting into when investing in a high risk experiment like "Hyperloop". I'm just calling B.S. on it's some sort of scam.

Not to mention we have a working real world implementation of Maglev running at 550 - 600Km/hr in Japan. Not as fast as the theoretical 1000Km/Hr in hyperloop, but one is still in R&D while the other is actually running.

That is until Elon can proof he can manufacture the Tube much cheaper than layering the Mag-Lev track.

> Hyperloop is neighter "cheap" or "easy" to create. Its approx. 10 times as expensive to operate than "Mad-Lev" trains

Is this across the board? I'd imagine the cost estimates would differ depending on where the line would be located - on raised platforms, below ground, or at ground level e.g. a highway divider lane? Or is Hyperloop impractical for pretty much all of the use cases?

Well hyperloop will be more expensive any place maglev is more expensive. If maglev costs $x to build above ground, and $5x to build underground, then hyperloop would cost $10x and $50x, would it not? (disregarding what the actual scaling factor is)

Thunderf00t is not a good source for hyperloop.

Thunderf00t is not a good source for a great deal of things.

IIRC his field is chemistry, yet he explained the batteries vs fuel problem in a wilfully ignorant way.

Where did he go wrong in his criticism of Hyperloop?

All of the recent Elon Musk companies have been economically questionable if not for government subsidies.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com