Elon Musk hints at Hyperloop pod racer competition

An annual race held on the high-tech Hyperloop transportation system could be in the pipeline after entrepreneur extraordinaire Elon Musk signalled an interest in a competition.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO announced on Twitter that Hyperloop Transportation Technologies will be building a test track, most likely in Texas, for companies and student teams to test out pod prototypes.

Musk followed this up with a tweet revealing his interest in holding an "annual student Hyperloop pod racer competition" that will be similar to Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers).

Formula SAE is a student design competition in which teams design, build and test a prototype of a small Formula-style race car.

The official Twitter account of Formula SAE was quick to make contact with Musk, and after asking if it was able to be of assistance the racing organisation was instructed by Musk to get in touch with Steve Davis, director of advanced projects at SpaceX.

A 57-page whitepaper detailing an 800mph train that would carry passengers on a cushion of air through a partially-evacuated tube was first revealed to the public in 2013.

Since then plans have been made to produce a series of prototypes ready for a technical feasibility study expected to begin in mid-2015.

The Hyperloop transportation system would be capable of travelling between San Francisco and Los Angeles in around 35 minutes, Musk claims, and the 400-mile route would cost an estimated $6-10bn (£3.8-4.6bn).

Currently a team of around 100 engineers are working on the project in their free time in return for shares in the Hyperloop Transportation Technologies company.

No funding has yet been given though CEO Dirk Ahlborn is confident that once designs are finalised then there will be no problem in getting the project financed.