Not so friendly reminder that musk specifically came up with, and pushed, for hyperloop knowing that it would never be made, as an effort to stop the development of highspeed rail in America and shift all political discussions of it because "something better is around the corner":
As I’ve written in my book, Musk admitted to his biographer Ashlee Vance that Hyperloop was all about trying to get legislators to cancel plans for high-speed rail in California—even though he had no plans to build it. Several years ago, Musk said that public transit was “a pain in the ass” where you were surrounded by strangers, including possible serial killers, to justify his opposition.
Also: 2024 update, the total length of China's high-speed rail tracks has now reached well over 45,000 km, or 28,000 miles, by the end of 2023.
They are additionally five years ahead of schedule and expect to double the total number within ten years. And, before someone inevitably complains about "how expensive it is", they are turning over a net-profit of over $600M USD a year.
I've been on the high speed line from Shanghai, it's fantastic. Covered 700km in around 2 hours with beautiful views of the landscape. The ride was comfortable and relaxing.
I've also been on the Shanghai Maglev, which I believe at the time and maybe still is the fastest passenger train in the world. It was pretty amazing flying over the motorway. It goes between Pudong airport and Shanghai city centre in about 10 minutes. I felt slightly nauseous during the acceleration.
China would be such a nice place to live if it wasn't such a bad place to live
I've got friends who lived long stretches in China, living there isn't the problem, the fascist government and the shit it does is the problem.