Elon Musk's SpaceX and rival companies Hyperloop Technologies and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. now all have a glowing regulatory co-signer into the construction of a hyperloop and it's coming from United States Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
Speaking at the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Design Competition at Texas A&M University on Friday, Foxx called the hyperloop a "very solid idea" and a "special moment in transportation" — one having "the potential for a moonshot" — as reported by The Verge.
"We should not take, and have not taken, a reflexive 'no' position to innovation," Foxx said, referring to the federal government, as reported by The Verge. "And that's the signal I wanted to send today ... I think we should lean into it."
He added later during the speech: "Everyone I know who knows the science suggests to me that it's a very solid idea. The question is, in practice, how do you make it happen."
In addition to his excitement for the prospect of the futuristic mode of propulsion/levitation traveling, Foxx added that the hyperloop could be eligible for federal dollars via the University Transportation Centers grant.
As it currently stands, Musk's SpaceX and companies Hyperloop Technologies and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies are locked in a three-way race to build and develop a hyperloop test track, which will exhibit levitation and propulsion technologies at their peak.
In addition to overcoming regulatory obstacles in the desired locations for their test tracks, the vying companies must also resolve the costly price attached to building such a hyperloop system.
Last month, Hyperloop Technologies told the Wall Street Journal that a hyperloop track could cost up to a staggering $20 million per mile and that it believes the first such functioning system will probably be built outside of the United States due to less stringent regulations.
