Elon Musk awoke on Thursday with the intention of sending Twitter into a frenzy by declaring that he received “verbal govt approval” to build a Hyperloop in the densest part of the United States, between New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. This is dumb, it’s not how things work, and requires, uh, actual government approval. We reached out to the, uh, actual government to see if this is legit.
But who knows! Electrek already sort of declared this a done deal, so maybe I really am just a cynical hag. Maybe—maybe!!!!—Elon’s had this in the works for months, and this isn’t a literal pipe dream.
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To be absolutely certain that he’s not blowing smoke, I reached out to spokespeople from every public agency I could think of that might have a hand in approving this sort of thing. Here’s what they said. (I’ll update the post if more comments come in.)
NY Metropolitan Transit Authority
Um, I can check on this for you.”
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (Philly)
I don’t have anything on that. I’d have to check with somebody here.
U.S. Homeland Security
We don’t have a comment at this point. Do you know, or can you find out, from which agency in the US government Musk got his “verbal approval?”
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
No, we are not aware of it. And I don’t know if we have a comment on that. But I can check on that for you.
Maryland Transit Administration
Thanks for your email. I will be out of the office on Thursday, July 20, returning on Monday, July 31. I will respond to your message at that time … Thanks and enjoy your day!
U.S. Department of Transportation
(No response yet)
A reporter for the BBC suggested to Musk that it would seem “premature to announce” the project with only a verbal agreement, which is how things normally work. Maybe, the reporter asked, you’re just trying to drum up support? Indeed!
We need better transit infrastructure in this country, no doubt. But using a bullhorn to suggest you’ve received approval—of some sort—to build a project that’s centered around a futuristic transit system that hasn’t even been tested at a large scale yet is insane.
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Update: Sure thing:
Do You Need Any Help Filling Out Some Forms, Elon?
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