- The Hyperloop prototype tube was removed from its location outside of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif, reports say.
- The above-ground test tunnel was installed in 2016, but sat idle for years, according to the LA Times.
- Hawthorne Council member Angie Reyes English reportedly asked the city to request the tube be dismantled.
Elon Musk’s ambitious Hyperloop test tunnel has reportedly been removed from its location in front of the SpaceX headquarters in California.
The LA Times reported that Hawthorne Council member Angie Reyes English asked city staff to request the removal of the tube.
“The city has been very giving and has been very supportive in efforts that SpaceX has had,” said English. “But ultimately, we have other businesses and other things we need to consider, and to give the community their streets back.”
In 2016, the above-ground prototype tube was installed in Hawthorne — a city in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area — but now the city has moved to uninstall the futuristic venture.
The project is run by Musk’s civil engineering company, The Boring Company, but the prototype tube sat idle for years on Jack Northrop Avenue. According to the LA Times, it drew complaints from pedestrians and motorists before the city stepped in to have it dismantled.
Although Hyperloop and The Boring Company representatives didn’t respond to Insider’s request for confirmation, Fox Business reports the test tunnel will be replaced by parking spaces.
In an April tweet, Musk confirmed the company’s attempt to build a working Hyperloop to combat traffic issues “in the coming years.”
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 24, 2022
Musk’s proposed Hyperloop system was designed to transport travelers through low-pressure tubes in pods at speeds as high as 760 miles per hour. The ambitious invention would reportedly cut the commute from Los Angeles to San Francisco down to 35 minutes, LA Times reported.
The tech billionaire pitched the idea in 2013.
