A company called HyperLoop Transportation Technologies may soon find out if the vision of Elon Musk—the billionaire entrepreneur behind companies including Space X, SolarCity and Tesla—to get commuters from San Francisco to LA in just over a half hour can be a reality. Musk’s idea is to create a tube that would utilize solar power, fans and magnets to carry travelers in pods at speeds up to 800 mph. Now, HTT, which is operating independently of the inventor, has just been given the green light by California officials to build a 5-mile, $100 million Hyperloop test track. Though the test train will only go 200 mph, engineers hope that it could be the first step in making Hyperloop transportation a reality. Musk says that the futuristic speed trains could offer a more fuel efficient way (compared to air travel) to go long distances at extremely high speeds. Also, they look like giant hamster tubes, and hamsters always appear to be having fun; so there’s another benefit …
