Hyperloop Team to be Led by SpaceX Alum, Former Bush Appointee Elon Musk's Hyperloop is one step closer to becoming a reality with two seasoned engineers agreeing to manage the project.
By Benjamin Kabin •
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UPDATE (Oct. 31): The JumpStartFund has voted to name the new company charged with developing Elon Musk's Hyperloop project "Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc."
Elon Musk's Hyperloop is one step closer to becoming a reality.
Crowdfunding platform JumpStartFund announced an agreement today with SpaceX alum Dr. Marco Villa and former president of the American Society of Civil Engineers Dr. Patricia Galloway to develop what promises to be a revolutionary mode of high-speed transportation.
The agreement comes after 28 days of voting, vetting and comments on the JumpStartFund website and will result in the formation of a new company charged with researching, refining and, ultimately, building the Hyperloop.
"There does not seem to be any technical issues on this project that we can't solve, even if we do not know right away, we will figure it out," says Villa, the former director of mission operations for Space X, another Elon Musk company. "Hyperloop is a very complex system and we look forward to receiving input and support from all the brilliant minds out there in the JumpStartFund community to make this a true open source development."
In a statement, JumpStartFund said community members will have the opportunity to apply to work on the Hyperloop project full time in exchange for equity.
Related: Elon Musk's Hyperloop Vision: High-Speed Pods in Steel Tubes
"I believe this project will revolutionize how transportation will be viewed for future travel to and from major cities similar to the way the Concorde almost changed air travel," says Galloway, appointed to the U.S National Science Board by President Bush in 2006. "What is different today is the opportunities that crowdsourcing and crowdfunding offers in getting dreams and innovations off the ground."
After a much anticipated announcement this summer, Musk delivered the initial blueprint that promises to take commuters from Los Angeles to San Francisco in aluminum pods in just 30 minutes with way less upfront costs than traditional rail. The project was initially met with much skepticism, especially after Musk said he didn't plan on heading the project himself, but with the signing-on of two scientific heavy hitters, the project is taking on a more serious tone.
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