It’s not a secret I’m no fan of Mr. Elon Musk. I think he’s a smart guy with some decent products---and a really good con-artist who has fooled a good many people. I can admit PayPal does well (I use it), SpaceX is cool (thanks to government contracts), Tesla may take off (despite its sales and labor problems) and maybe that stupid car-sled tunnel thing will get built in Los Angeles with his tunnel company so he doesn’t have to sit in traffic like all the other rubes (LOLOLOLOLOL). Oh, and he quit 45’s tech team in an empty gesture (leaving the Paris accord was what got him but not anything else? Sure, Jan.)
So pretty fascinating to hear his Boring Company got “verbal government approval” to build a hype(r)loop through multiple cities, towns, townships, boroughs, and counties and 5 states so that one can be hurled, in those little Hype(r)loop private pods, from New York City to Washington D.C. in 29 minutes. (I suppose he’s given up on notoriously litigious Los Angeles and his magical car-sled tunnels?)
No telling what it would cost. Elon doesn’t do costs (and if he says a 350 mile long piece of infrastructure—one that we don’t even know if it works---one in the most expensive landscape in the United States---will cost less than $100 billion he’s making shit up just like he did with the original hype(r)loop proposal in California).
For one thing, there’s no such thing as verbal government approval.
Mr. Musk doesn’t do details. No telling who he talked to. New York City? Philadelphia? Baltimore? Wilmington? Washington D.C.?
Or any of the counties under which this tunnel would pass? Or the dozens of suburban municipalities next to Philadelphia? Any of six state/district level DOTs? How about their Departments of the Environment (there’s a lot more than just "dirt" down there)? Any of the state’s MPOs? We’re up to hundreds of government entities now with hundreds of officials and even more employees. I didn’t even get to the Federal Government. FRA? FHWA? USDOT? Anyone? Who gave approval?
As best as anyone can guess, and vaguely confirmed by the White House in that mouthbreathy “gosh, innovation" tone they have, he chatted with someone who thought it was a good idea and that's about it.
I’ll give Musk credit. He’s really good at hype and sometimes that hype works. He certainly has a lot of fans amongst progressives who would be aghast to know that in order to do what Musk wants, much of the regulatory state we like would have to go bye-bye. Musk says “I’m going to have commercial flights to Mars and a colony too, which I can get to in half the time” (spoilers—nope, no one can yet) and the press eats it up and everyone goes “wow, amazing.” I get what he’s doing.
He’s basically Lyle Lanley, and everyone stanniing for him are the townspeople of Springfield.