Transportation Secretary Says Elon Musk's Hyperloop Could Be Next ‘Moonshot'

The Hyperloop — the super fast, super conceptual, tube-based transportation system popularized by Elon Musk — has its fair share of skeptics. But not Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Foxx said the Hyperloop is a “very solid idea” that merited further beta testing, and that the federal government had a “responsibility” to support the idea. In fact, the Hyperloop could be eligible for federal money, through the University Transportation Centers grant program, he said. All in all, it was a pretty strong endorsement from the Obama administration for an idea that many dismiss as a pipe dream.

Foxx was Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, Friday to deliver the keynote address at the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Design Competition, where over a thousand high school and college engineers from all over the world were presenting their designs for the best Hyperloop pod.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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