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I am not sure why that is hilarious. India just sent a probe to Mars at $69 Million. Musk has himself built a rocket company with a million dollar scale invest

by kamaal 13y ago

I am not sure why that is hilarious. India just sent a probe to Mars at $69 Million. Musk has himself built a rocket company with a million dollar scale investment. There is no reason to dismiss, especially when he has a track record of delivering great stuff on time and in budget.

anigbrowl 13y ago
Because the cost is not just technological. There's also major land use issues, which get expensive in CA. His idea that putting it along the middle of the freeway will obviate these is not credible. I estimate $20bn to build it, minimum. Rocketry is simple by comparison.
- david927 13y ago
  Maybe, maybe not. I don't see how running it along the freeway is not credible. But here's the upshot: Snapchat is a photo-sharing app that will hardly be around in 10 years; the Hyperloop would be. This seems to be lost on all those in Silicon Valley who sit for hours every day in traffic to go to their one-story prefab work box, only to then sit in the same traffic later to return to their prefab home box. There's investment to make your money grow and investment in the future. We need less of the former and more of the latter.
- jwr 13y ago
  I also have my estimates. And I think that one day, after I create a successful company that builds electric cars on a scale no one has tried before, and after I create a company that designs and builds rockets that deliver cargo on commercially-contracted terms, people will even take my estimates seriously. Until then, I'll keep them to myself and not criticize others unless I have a really, really good justification.
  - im3w1l 13y ago
    We are talking about no one will invest in hyperloop. If it is because people suspect Musk's cost estimates are off then that is worth bringing up.
nightski 13y ago
Yes, but even Elon Musk admits they were very close to failure in 2008 and almost had to call it quits. No matter the track record these projects are extraordinarily risky (with a potentially massive payout).
michaelt 13y ago
I'm not saying it's impossible, but when the California High-Speed Rail project [1] goes at a third the speed using much more conventional technology and costs ten times as much, an investor's got to ask if hyperloop is too good to be true. It's also a big high-profile project, so if your investment failed you couldn't sweep it under the rug; and mass transit is an industry that hasn't had many high profile successes in recent years. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail
- ericd 13y ago
  How does a project that's been horribly managed being much worse than this suggest that this is suspect? (Unless you expect that horrible management is a given in any CA government-related project)

by kamaal 13y ago

anigbrowl 13y ago

Because the cost is not just technological. There's also major land use issues, which get expensive in CA. His idea that putting it along the middle of the freeway will obviate these is not credible. I estimate $20bn to build it, minimum. Rocketry is simple by comparison.

david927 13y ago
Maybe, maybe not. I don't see how running it along the freeway is not credible. But here's the upshot: Snapchat is a photo-sharing app that will hardly be around in 10 years; the Hyperloop would be. This seems to be lost on all those in Silicon Valley who sit for hours every day in traffic to go to their one-story prefab work box, only to then sit in the same traffic later to return to their prefab home box. There's investment to make your money grow and investment in the future. We need less of the former and more of the latter.
jwr 13y ago
I also have my estimates. And I think that one day, after I create a successful company that builds electric cars on a scale no one has tried before, and after I create a company that designs and builds rockets that deliver cargo on commercially-contracted terms, people will even take my estimates seriously. Until then, I'll keep them to myself and not criticize others unless I have a really, really good justification.
- im3w1l 13y ago
  We are talking about no one will invest in hyperloop. If it is because people suspect Musk's cost estimates are off then that is worth bringing up.

nightski 13y ago

Yes, but even Elon Musk admits they were very close to failure in 2008 and almost had to call it quits. No matter the track record these projects are extraordinarily risky (with a potentially massive payout).

michaelt 13y ago

I'm not saying it's impossible, but when the California High-Speed Rail project [1] goes at a third the speed using much more conventional technology and costs ten times as much, an investor's got to ask if hyperloop is too good to be true. It's also a big high-profile project, so if your investment failed you couldn't sweep it under the rug; and mass transit is an industry that hasn't had many high profile successes in recent years. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail

ericd 13y ago
How does a project that's been horribly managed being much worse than this suggest that this is suspect? (Unless you expect that horrible management is a given in any CA government-related project)