Most of us HAVE read the PDF and still have questions. It’s not a very long document, especially considering all the new tech it advocates. These “read the white paper” and “if you don’t think this is the best thing ever, you’re a cynic” talking points are pretty much the only thing the “LEAVE ELON ALOOOOOONE!” crowd seem to have. Problem is, many of us have read it and find the details lacking. As much as I’d love to have a new inexpensive super fast transportation system, what has been released by Musk is heavy on handwaving and even the simplest questions are met with “it’s in the PDF” even when they’re not. I’ve noticed most of the “read the PDF” crowd don’t actually quote anything from the document. If the answers are there, you’d think they’d be able to quote the page and passage. Perhaps they haven’t read it themselves and that’s why they’re so convinced that no one else has either.
Hyperloop would be great but we live in a world in which the laws of physics, economics, and human physiology can’t be easily dismissed like they can in the world of politics. It’s quite possible that if effort were put into the system that it could be successful. But there are lots of details to work out and some of the handwaving is laughable. It looks like this wasn’t actually designed to be built but rather was designed to FUD the high speed rail system that’s actually being built with actual existing proven technology. When an actual demonstration system has been built, then we can start to believe the numbers and technology involved. Until then, the white paper is basically nothing more than an extended Popular Mechanics article.
