Investor's Corner
HyperLoop Test Track Coming To California
HyperLoop Transportation Technologies has purchased land in central California to build HyperLoop test track to see if the this nutty idea actually works.
HyperLoop Transportation Technologies has struck a deal to buy enough land near Interstate 5 in central California to build a 5 mile long HyperLoop test track, reports Navigant Research. It will cost about $100,000,000 and serve as a “proof of concept” facility for the HyperLoop idea proposed by Elon Musk in 2013. The money to pay for it is expected to come from an IPO later this year, with construction beginning in 2016.
If you’re not familiar with the HyperLoop, think of it as one of those pneumatic tubes that connect drivers and tellers at drive-thru banks, only hundreds of miles long and big enough to carry people. Musk thinks such a system could whisk passengers from LA to San Francisco in about 35 minutes at speeds up to 800 mph.
If that seems a little fantastic to you, remember this is the man who thought it was possible to build a rocket ship for a fraction of what it costs other companies — and then did it. Today, his SpaceX company has years of business worth billions of dollars booked, while those others are crying for customers. Saying “It can’t be done,” to Musk is like telling Congress to stop spending your money.
For all his genius, not even Elon Musk can overturn the laws of physics. All transportation devices have to deal with friction losses and wind resistance. As speeds increase, so does friction, but the real enemy of high speed travel is wind resistance. Aerodynamic loads increase with the square of speed. That’s why it takes 4 times as much power to punch a hole in the air at 100 mph than it does at 50 mph.
Source: ET3
The HyperLoop doesn’t repeal the laws of physics; it finds new ways to minimize their effects. It’s one of those “Don’t raise the bridge, lower the river,” kind of things and it’s brilliant. Let’s start with wind resistance. The HyperLoop will consist of a steel tube hundreds of miles long that has a partial vacuum inside. Less air means less wind resistance. Less wind resistance means higher speeds with less power.
Part two of the plan eliminates all the wheels, axles and motors that cause friction in regular vehicles. Instead, the transportation modules inside the HyperLoop tube will “float” on a thin layer of air, slashing friction to nearly zero. Instead of motors, the train will be propelled by electrically powered linear accelerators installed along its entire length. Once again, the idea is brilliant. But will it work?
Musk says passengers in his HyperLoop will be whisked along in complete comfort. But skeptics point out that they will be sealed inside windowless pods during the journey. Those who suffer from claustrophobia shouldn’t buy a ticket. There will be no beverage service, no restrooms and no possibility of moving around during the journey. Furthermore, they will be bombarded by the sound of what little air is left inside the tube rushing by at near supersonic speeds.
While Musk assumes the ride will be serenely smooth, in reality the alignment of the tube will have to be virtually perfect over its entire length for that to happen. Hello? We are talking about California here, a state known for its frequent seismic activity. Then there are considerations like how to keep the HyperLink tube sealed against air leaks and safe from vandalism.
The test track is designed to answer all those questions and win over the doubters. If the idea is validated, Musk says a Hyperloop along the heavily traveled I 5 corridor could be built for about $8 billion. Contrast that with the $64 billion the Amtrak high speed rail line scheduled to begin construction soon is supposed to cost. When was the last time a government project came in on time and under budget? Of course, Musk’s numbers don’t include the costs of developing his idea and making it a reality.
Elon Musk’s greatest gift is spinning wondrous tales about what could be and convincing people to invest today in his promise of tomorrow. Then he uses the funds raised to make tomorrow happen. So far, more people have made money investing in Musk and his dreams than have lost it. When the HyperLoop Transportation Technologies IPO takes place, will you be on the phone to your broker, placing a “buy” order? Or do you think the HyperLoop is mostly hype and hyperbole?
The problem with predicting the future is the future is so stubbornly unpredictable.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) showrooms have been picked clean ahead of the end of the third quarter of the year, as demand looks to be strong and delivery estimates for new vehicles are pushed into late 2026 and early 2027.
Tesla appears to have sold out of many of its Model 3 and Model Y trim levels in the United States, as only the Model Y RWD and Model Y All-Wheel-Drive are available for delivery before the end of the year.
Additionally, many showrooms are either completely empty or void of all but just one demo unit within the buildings themselves in an effort to bolster what could be one of Tesla’s best quarters in vehicle deliveries in recent memory.
I’m at Tesla right now and when I walked into their showroom I was shocked to see it basically empty.
I asked one of the people working there where all of the cars are “Gone – it’s the end of the quarter and we’ve sold out of everything… including the display vehicles”So… pic.twitter.com/rN7s3gE6sJ
— Devin Olsen (@DevinOlsenn) September 25, 2026
All the cars are gone from Tesla Century City!
All they have is Model Y L, a self-driving video playing on the background. I guess the best product is no product. Either that or they just sold the showroom cars. pic.twitter.com/mzCjWaXwww
— Whole Mars Catalog (@wholemars) September 26, 2026
Show room is empty. I asked and they have sold the demo cars too. Delivery numbers better be outstanding! pic.twitter.com/jq5N28Q6tZ
— Electric Brawl (@3lectricBrawl) September 22, 2026
Additionally, when I spoke to the guys at Tesla Mechanicsburg two weeks ago, when I returned the Model Y L, their third hauler of the week had just arrived, and every vehicle on it, along with every vehicle in their delivery lot, was accounted for and had a name attached to it for delivery.
Talking to the guys at the Mechanicsburg showroom on Friday, they couldn’t believe they had ANOTHER hauler coming in of cars for delivery—and each was accounted for
No car just sitting in inventory. They’re expecting a BIG quarter, and this is more than just the Y L https://t.co/ce801GkKVv
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 21, 2026
Tesla saw a 25 percent increase in deliveries in Q2 compared to the same quarter the year before. The vast majority of the 480,126 units it delivered, 467,762 vehicles to be exact, were the Model 3 and Model Y.
In Q3 2025, Tesla delivered 497,099 vehicles, once again a figure that was dominated by the company’s two mass-market vehicles. Analysts have unusually wide predictions for this quarter, likely because so many firms missed the Q2 delivery figure by such a substantial margin; Wall Street predicted 408,000 cars, while Tesla delivered 480,000.
Goldman Sachs has Tesla slotted for 435,000 deliveries in Q3, while JPMorgan said it anticipates 482,000. The median guess is about 449,000 deliveries for Q3.
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Elon Musk
SpaceX turned a heralding moment for Starship into its greatest
Starship reached orbit despite losing an engine, deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites on Flight 14.
SpaceX’s Starship reached orbit for the first time on Monday, and for a few nail-biting minutes it looked like it wouldn’t. During ascent on Flight 14, one of Ship 41’s six Raptor engines shut down early, and SpaceX’s livestream host Dan Huot told viewers the team had decided not to commit to orbit. Minutes later, after what Huot described as a lot of conversation in the control room, the final poll came back in favor, and a roughly 19 second burn of a single Raptor pushed the ship into orbit about 170 miles up.
The reversal matters because SpaceX had written the exit ramp into the mission plan. The company said it would only fire the orbital insertion burn if flight controllers confirmed enough backup hardware remained for the deorbit burn, a condition Teslarati laid out ahead of the flight. Losing an engine was exactly the scenario that rule was built for.
Pressing forward fits Elon Musk’s history. Falcon 1 failed three straight times before its fourth launch reached orbit in 2008, with SpaceX nearly out of money, and Starship was developed by flying prototypes until they broke. What changed this year SpaceX going public, and with $SPCX sliding below its IPO price in July when Flight 13 slipped, the short interest climbed significantly, as Teslarati reported at the time. A Starship potentially lost today with revenue generating next-gen Starlink satellites aboard would have landed directly on shareholders.
Splashdown confirmed. Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on the first orbital flight of Starship! pic.twitter.com/urjmiwnvNl
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 28, 2026
That pressure showed up after orbit. SpaceX cut a flight planned to last nearly 10 hours to about three, moving splashdown from west of Chile to the North Pacific near Hawaii. SpaceX gave no reason, though Musk said this month the company was being extremely cautious about debris risk. The single Raptor for deorbit worked, and Ship 41 completed its flip and landing burn before breaking apart in the water, an outcome SpaceX expected. Musk has structured SpaceX’s governance to shield long term bets from market pressure.
The payload is the bigger business story. Musk posted that all 26 Starlink V3 satellites deployed and are “operating nominally.” Each V3 is rated for about 1 Tbps of downlink and 160 Gbps of uplink, so this single launch adds roughly 26 Tbps, about 10 times what a Falcon 9 load of V2 Mini satellites adds. The V3 is too large for Falcon 9, making Starship the only vehicle that can build out the planned 100,000 satellite constellation, at up to 60 per flight once it reaches routine service. Unlike the 20 V3 units on Flight 13, which reentered on a suborbital path, these will raise their orbits and could begin serving customers within weeks and bring in hundreds of millions of additional dollars in projected Starlink revenue.
SpaceX has already begun winding down Falcon 9 Starlink launches from Florida in favor of Starship. Reported targets put Flight 15 as early as October 19, leaving about three weeks to diagnose Monday’s engine shutdown before the next orbital attempt.
Starship’s 14th flight is set to launch on Monday, Sept 28. The 75-minute launch window opens at 7:15 a.m. CT. Live coverage of the mission starts ~35 minutes before launch → https://t.co/uQKQvgaTmJ
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 27, 2026
Elon Musk
SpaceX just got the green light Starship has waited years for
The FAA has cleared Starship Flight 14, setting up SpaceX’s first orbital attempt on Monday.
SpaceX has cleared the last regulatory hurdle standing between Starship and its first trip to orbit. The Federal Aviation Administration issued the launch license for Starship Flight 14 late Saturday, keeping the mission on track for liftoff Monday, September 28, from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas.
The 75 minute launch window opens at 7:15 a.m. Central, and Boca Chica Beach closures are also scheduled for September 29 and 30 as backup dates. This will be Starship’s first revenue generating mission.
The license was the missing piece after SpaceX completed a full wet dress rehearsal with Booster 21 and Ship 41 on September 24. At the time, the company said the flight remained on track pending regulatory approval. Because Flight 14 flies an orbital profile, the FAA had to sign off on a modified license that met its safety, payload and financial responsibility requirements.
Observers combing through the new FAA paperwork also noticed that lightning no longer appears among Starship’s listed launch hazards. If that holds, it matters more for where Starship is headed than for Monday’s attempt. Florida and Louisiana, home to LC-39A and the planned Starbase Louisiana site, see some of the most frequent lightning in the United States.
SpaceX tells the FCC that Starship Flight 14 is going to orbit
Flight 14 is the mission SpaceX has been building toward for months. Ship 41 will carry 26 Starlink V3 satellites, the first operational V3 units to be deployed, and attempt roughly six orbits at about 275 kilometers over a flight lasting just under 10 hours. SpaceX says the ship will only perform its orbital insertion burn after flight controllers confirm enough hardware redundancy remains for the deorbit burn at the end of the mission. Ship 41 is targeting a splashdown in the Pacific west of Chile, while Super Heavy will return to the Gulf of Mexico.
The date carries some symbolism as well. A Monday launch would come 10 years and one day after Elon Musk first presented the Interplanetary Transport System, the design that became Starship, at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico.
SpaceX has not announced what comes next, but air traffic planning slides reported this week, list Flight 15 no earlier than October 19 and a first Starship launch from LC-39A in Florida no earlier than October 30. Both dates depend on how Monday goes.
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