Tesla Pod Sets Hyperloop High-Speed Record

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A Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) pod has set a high-speed record.

TESLA
Source: Tesla

The SpaceX creation used a Tesla drivetrain to test how fast it can go last weekend, working as a tug boat that propels student pods forward as they don’t have their own built-in motor for acceleration. The pod topped out at a speed of 220 mph in a sealed vacuum tunnel, higher than the winning student team’s speed of 201 mph.

The team of students was called team WARR, and both records were attained at the 0.8-mile-long SpaceX Hyperloop test track that runs parallel to the company in Hawthrone, California.

“Got up to 355 km/h (220 mph) before things started ?. Kind of like racing with a tugboat,” Elon Musk posted on Instagram. “Maybe able get past 500 km/h (about half speed of sound) next month with a few tweaks or maybe tiny pieces …”

If it actually reached that speed, it would be half as fast as the speed of sound. The next Hyperloop Pod competition will happen at this event.

The idea of the Hyperloop was first introduced by Musk on Aug. 2013 as a way of moving from one edge of the country or the world to another. It is estimated that a trip from New York to Washington, D.C. will take 27 minutes inside a Hyperloop.

TSLA stock grew 0.8% Thursday.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/08/tesla-inc-tsla-hyperloop/.

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