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Hyperloop One plans global distribution system to rival Amazon Prime
Speaking to the press at CES 2017, Hyperloop One executives laid out their vision for a new global distribution system that will revolutionize the way goods are delivered to markets worldwide. “Just think of Hyperloop as broadband for transportation,” Rob Lloyd, CEO for Hyperloop One, tells Inverse. “If you think of it as broadband for transportation you suddenly unlock a massive amount of change, and new applications. New thinking,” he added emphatically.
Semi-finalists announced
That “broadband of transportation” took a step toward reality on January 6 when Hyperloop One announced 35 semi-finalists in its Hyperloop One Global Challenge. Announced last May, the Challenge attracted entries from 2,600 teams of engineers and urban planners eager to convince the company that their’s was the perfect location for a Hyperloop demonstration project. One group proposed linking Dubai with Abu Dhabi. Another envisioned a Hyperloop link from Russia to China.
The 35 semi-finalists will present there ideas at three locations later this year — February 28 in New Delhi, April 6 in Washington, D.C., and April 27 in London. Hyperloop One will whittle the list of finalists down to about 6 finalists after those presentations are completed.
Government leaders, including transportation officials from the incoming Trump administration, will be invited to regional presentations. “Our instincts are that the work that we’re doing is going to be extremely well received when the people get into place,” Rob Lloyd says. “I think we’re going to be a very, very important part of the next three or four years in terms of the potential infrastructure that U.S. looks at.”
Feasibility studies will follow, but they are just a one step in the process. “We’re not in the business of doing studies, we’re in the business of looking for hyperloops that can be built,” Rob Lloyd says. “We want to have three routes in production in the next five years.”
Nick Earle, who oversees global field operations for Hyperloop One, tells Inverse, “This is not just about moving things and people quicker. This is [about] the business models that are disrupted — and enabled — by Hyperloop transportation.”
Autonomous cars included
There is another tie-in between Elon Musk — who originally conceived of the Hyperloop idea — and Hyperloop One’s vision. The company foresees autonomous cars — one of Musk’s highest priorities — as being able to travel inside the Hyperloop. “Autonomous cars will actually be able to go inside the Hyperloop. You actually can do door-to-door like never before,” says Nick Earle. That idea came out of a partnership between the company and Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority.
“It’s Amazon Prime on steroids,” Earle says. “You don’t have to use a fleet of airplanes, you don’t have to use warehouses outside of cities to store goods, because you have to truck them in to meet that one hour deadline that’s in the contract for Amazon Prime.”
“Kitty Hawk Moment” coming in April
A full scale test of the Hyperloop One prototype system is planned for April of this year. “It’s one thing for us to talk about building it, it’s something different for you to actually go build it,” Josh Giegel, President of Engineering for Hyperloop One, says. The demonstration will be fully open to the public.
“For us, taking this concept and actually building it, and testing it, and showing people — allowing them to see it, to touch it, to smell it if they want — is really, really important,” Giegel explains. “We’ve felt that way for a long time, that it’s one thing for us to talk about building it It’s something different for you to actually go build it.”
Tribute to Elon Musk
Hyperloop One acknowledges a debt to Elon Musk, the serial tech visionary who first envisioned the Hyperloop concept and made his thoughts public in a published white paper in 2013. “I think he’ll always have a big part of it.,” says Giegel. “We’ll forever be indebted to him for giving us kind of the idea, but we definitely changed the technology quite a bit from the original white paper.”
“It’s more than just a train, or a pod in a tube. We’re taking it to a level of connectivity and really being the high speed backbone of the future transportation network.”
News
Tesla Model Y sold out in China for 2025
Customers who wish to get their cars by the end of the year would likely need to get an inventory unit.
It appears that the Model Y has been sold out for 2025 in China. This seems to be true for the four variants of the vehicle that are currently offered in the country.
Tesla China’s order page update
A look at Tesla China’s order page for the Model Y shows a message informing customers that those who wish to guarantee delivery by the end of the year should purchase an inventory unit. This was despite the Model Y RWD and Model Y L showing an estimated delivery timeline of 4-8 weeks, and the Model Y Long Range RWD and Model Y Long Range AWD showing 4-13 weeks.
As per industry watchers, these updates on the Model Y’s order page suggest that Tesla China’s sales capacity for the remainder of 2025 has been sold out. The fact that estimated delivery timeframes for the Model Y Long Range RWD and AWD extend up to 13 weeks also bodes well for demand for the vehicle, especially given strong rivals like the Xiaomi YU7, which undercuts the Model Y in price.
Tesla China’s upcoming big updates
What is quite interesting is that Tesla China is still competing in the country with one hand partly tied behind its back. So far, Tesla has only been able to secure partial approval for its flagship self-driving software, FSD, in China. This has resulted in V14 not being rolled out to the country yet. Despite this, Tesla China’s “Autopilot automatic assisted driving on urban roads,” as the system is called locally, has earned positive reviews from users.
As per Elon Musk during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, however, Tesla is expecting to secure full approval for FSD in China in early 2026. “We have partial approval in China, and we hopefully will have full approval in China around February or March or so. That’s what they’ve told us,” Musk said.
News
Tesla Full Self-Driving appears to be heading to Europe soon
For years, Musk has said the process for gaining approval in Europe would take significantly more time than it does in the United States. Back in 2019, he predicted it would take six to twelve months to gain approval for Europe, but it has taken much longer.
Tesla Full Self-Driving appears to be heading to Europe soon, especially as the company has continued to expand its testing phases across the continent.
It appears that the effort is getting even bigger, as the company recently posted a job for a Vehicle Operator in Prague, Czech Republic.
This would be the third country the company is seeking a Vehicle Operator in for the European market, joining Germany and Hungary, which already have job postings in Berlin, Prüm, and Budapest, respectively.
🚨Breaking: Tesla is hiring vehicle operators in Prague. pic.twitter.com/CbiJdQLCLj
— Tesla Yoda (@teslayoda) November 19, 2025
This position specifically targets the Engineering and Information Technology departments at Tesla, and not the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence job category that relates to Robotaxi job postings.
Although there has been a posting for Robotaxi Operators in the Eastern Hemisphere, more specifically, Israel, this specific posting has to do with data collection, likely to bolster the company’s position in Europe with FSD.
The job description says:
“We are seeking a highly motivated employee to strengthen our team responsible for vehicle data collection. The Driver/Vehicle Operator position is tasked with capturing high-quality data that contributes to improving our vehicles’ performance. This role requires self-initiative, flexibility, attention to detail, and the ability to work in a dynamic environment.”
It also notes the job is for a fixed term of one year.
The position requires operation of a vehicle for data collection within a defined area, and requires the Vehicle Operator to provide feedback to improve data collection processes, analyze and report collected data, and create daily driving reports.
The posting also solidifies the company’s intention to bring its Full Self-Driving platform to Europe in the coming months, something it has worked tirelessly to achieve as it spars with local regulators.
For years, Musk has said the process for gaining approval in Europe would take significantly more time than it does in the United States. Back in 2019, he predicted it would take six to twelve months to gain approval for Europe, but it has taken much longer.
This year, Musk went on to say that the process of getting FSD to move forward has been “very frustrating,” and said it “hurts the safety of the people of Europe.”
Elon Musk clarifies the holdup with Tesla Full Self-Driving launch in Europe
The latest update Musk gave us was in July, when he said that Tesla was awaiting regulatory approval.
News
Tesla celebrates 75k Superchargers, less than 5 months since 70k-stall milestone
Tesla’s 75,000th stall is hosted at the South Hobart Smart Store on Cascade Road, South Hobart, Tasmania.
Tesla has crossed another major charging milestone by officially installing its 75,000th Supercharger stall worldwide. The electric vehicle maker chose South Hobart, Tasmania, as the commemorative location of its 75,000th Supercharger.
Tesla’s 75,000th Supercharger
Tesla’s 75,000th stall is hosted at the South Hobart Smart Store on Cascade Road, South Hobart, TAS 7004, as noted in a techAU report. The location features four next-generation V4 Superchargers, which are built with longer cables that should make it easy even for non-Teslas to use the rapid charger. The site also includes simplified payment options, aligning with Tesla’s push to make V4 stations more accessible to a broader set of drivers.
For Tasmanian EV owners, the installation fills an important regional gap, improving long-distance coverage around Hobart and strengthening the area’s appeal for mainland travelers traveling by electric vehicle. Similar to other commemorative Superchargers, the 70,000th stall is quite special as it is finished in Glacier Blue paint. Tesla’s 50,000th stall, which is in California, is painted a stunning red, and the 60,000th stall, which is in Japan, features unique origami-inspired graphics.
Accelerating Supercharger milestones
The Tesla Supercharger’s pace of expansion shows no signs of slowing. Tesla celebrated its 70,000th stall at a 12-stall site in Burleson, Texas late June 2025. Just eight months earlier, Tesla announced that it had celebrated the buildout of its 60,000th Supercharger, which was built in Enshu Morimachi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network also recently received accolades in the United Kingdom, with the 2025 Zapmap survey naming the rapid charging system as the Best Large EV Charging Network for the second year in a row. Survey respondents praised the Supercharger Network for its ease of use, price, and reliability, which is best-in-class. The fact that the network has also been opened for non-Teslas is just icing on the cake.
Tesla Model Y sold out in China for 2025
Tesla Full Self-Driving appears to be heading to Europe soon
