Commuter Hyperloop is just 5 years away, test track 1 year out

Just two years after Elon Musk first posited the idea of a 500 mph commuter transportation tube between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the new CEO of Hyperloop Technologies Rob Lloyd says a working Hyperloop is just five years away.

Lloyd, formerly the president of Cisco, was announced as incoming CEO of Hyperloop Technologies. He told reporters of his plans for the company:

“Three years from now I believe that we will be designing and constructing the first two or three production Hyperloop systems in the world. Five years from now we will be moving goods and people,” Lloyd said during the interview.

Lloyd also explained that plans for a Hyperloop test track are underway at SpaceX's California campus under the direction of Musk, and could break ground by June of next year. Lloyd has plans for a test track of his own, to be built on a similar timeline.

After introducing the Hyperloop idea in 2013, Musk declared the concept an open source project, free for others to pick up and bring to life. While Musk has no operational sway in Hyperloop Technologies, he continues to be involved with the passion project. Musk — no stranger to blending his business ventures — and SpaceX will host a Hyperloop pod contest in January. More than 1,200 teams have applied to participate.

When complete, a Los Angeles to San Francisco Hyperloop track could turn the commute between the two cities into 30-minute affair, with passenger pods traveling at 500 mph.