Not so friendly reminder that musk specifically came up with, and pushed, for hyperloop knowing that it would never be made, as an effort to stop the development of highspeed rail in America and shift all political discussions of it because “something better is around the corner”:
As I’ve written in my book, Musk admitted to his biographer Ashlee Vance that Hyperloop was all about trying to get legislators to cancel plans for high-speed rail in California—even though he had no plans to build it. Several years ago, Musk said that public transit was “a pain in the ass” where you were surrounded by strangers, including possible serial killers, to justify his opposition.
Also: 2024 update, the total length of China’s high-speed rail tracks has now reached well over 45,000 km, or 28,000 miles, by the end of 2023.
They are additionally five years ahead of schedule and expect to double the total number within ten years. And, before someone inevitably complains about “how expensive it is”, they are turning over a net-profit of over $600M USD a year.
Yoi’re Strawmanning.
Is Bejing paying you to do this?
No, they’re awful at building infrastructure. They’re able to build it really really fast, but they’re always prioritizing speed over longevity, leading to bad infrastructure that eventually collapses.
Just think about it: in Switzerland we often take longer to survey the ground than it takes the Chinese to build the whole thing. This can’t work
I never made this about natural disasters, I was always very clear I was talking about early warning systems
You know, the kind that stops a Train if the rails literally snapped apart
But seriously, how much does the CCP pay for this? Just keeping my options open.
You’ve seen the tracks so smooth a coin doesn’t fall over at 300km/h and you call that “awful at building infrastructure”? Curious.
But they’re fast, so it must be poor quality, right? The appeal to “just think about it” without seeking actual information is a classic.
You are maliciously ignoring / misinterpreting what I’m saying, so I’ll say it once more and then be off:
I can build you a Car that can go 200 km/h within 3 weeks
Does that make it better than a VW that takes years to develop?
No, because that car was actually tested. It has undergone a lot of testing to make sure it is safe to use in various conditions. My car didn’t do that.
Replace “my car” with “Chinese railway” and you should get the Idea
That’s exactly what my interpretation was.
You’ve leaped to the notion that Chinese trains are somehow an untested technology. They’re using technologies that have been developed and tested around the world for well over a century. No one is perfect, but they do seem to be implementing them quite well.
The funny thing about your car analogy is, guess what? China makes cars too! And they’re getting solid safety ratings: https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/byd/seal/50012