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Comment by lisper | Hacker News Reader

> SpaceX will construct a one-mile test track adjacent to our Hawthorne, California headquarters

I'm not sure which would be the more remarkable achievement, getting the Hyperloop working, or obtaining the real estate to build a mile-long test track in Hawthorne.

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I live in Hawthorne. Residential real-estate is fairly expensive in some areas (western side, where ~1200sqft goes for ~$700K), but commercial real estate is still not that expensive. Plus, Hawthorne is very diverse and Spacex is located on the less expensive east side of the city.

Nearby El Segundo is quite a different story, which I assume is part of the reason SpaceX moved from El Segundo to Hawthorne.

I also expect that they will run the test track around their current airport campus. I'm not even sure if they need to buy all that much new property to do so. They may just need to cut a deal with (or buy) the airport.

The cool thing is that this test track should be visible from the 105 freeway (along with the massive Tesla logo). So even people not familiar with the project will be enticed to find out more!

As a Hawthorne resident, I am excited!

They could use what I will call a rocket-estate crash coupling:

1. "Accidentally" crash a rocket near some properties there (far enough not to do any actual damage).

2. Wait for said property prices to crash.

You can't be serious.

Can't I?

rocketing towards affordability. I like it.

They are right next to Hawthorne Airport... that's the only place I can see the track being located. The rest of the surroundings are industrial buildings.

Aren't these meant to be underground?

Nope. Above ground, with solar panels on top.

I believe it would be overhead too as shown on their site. I assume it would be easier to construct overhead tracks adjacent or over the freeways.

For the most part it is to be elevated over the I-5 median, which helps with right-of-way.

The costs of an underground tunnel connecting LA with SF would be prohibitive.

Yes probably cheaper than acquiring the property rights for above ground in that area.

Well the design review is happening at Texas A&M. I'm sure they could have done the test track here easily.

Why not over the parking lots or back alleys, etc?

Cost. A full-scale hyperloop needs to be on pylons, but a 1-mile test track can be built directly on the ground, which would be a lot cheaper. Why pay for pylons if you don't have to?

Right. Wait for the stentorian voice to tell you when you need more pylons.

So you can test the pylons.

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