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Elon Musk crowns WARR Hyperloop with 3rd consecutive win after record-breaking 290 mph run

[Credit: WARR Hyperloop]

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WARR Hyperloop, a team of students from the Technical University of Munich, has been dubbed as the overall winner of the 2018 Hyperloop Pod Competition. During its winning runs, Team WARR’s sleek, aerodynamic pod was able to propel itself to speeds of 290 mph, breaking the record set last December by Virgin Hyperloop One’s pod, which hit the 240 mph mark.

As noted by SpaceX on the event’s official page, the competition for 2018 would be focused on a single criterion — maximum speed. This year’s competition only had a couple of requirements for the teams participating in the event. The Hyperloop Pods must be self-propelled, and they have to be fast. Very, very fast.

https://twitter.com/WARR_Hyperloop/status/1021256781106835457

Achieving top speed in SpaceX’s Hyperloop test track on its headquarters in Hawthorne, CA, is a challenge in itself. The test track, after all, is only 0.8 miles long, which requires the self-propelled pods to accelerate hard immediately from a standstill. In a press release last month, Team WARR stated that they are hoping to achieve 372 mph (600 kph) in this year’s competition. The team’s pod ultimately did not hit 372 mph, but its 290 mph run was enough to crown it the winner of this year’s Hyperloop event.

Elon Musk was in attendance at the 2018 Hyperloop Pod Competition. For their feat, Team WARR received a special token from the Tesla and SpaceX CEO — a signed, metallic model of Musk’s original Hyperloop pod design. With this win, WARR Hyperloop has managed to establish itself as the team to beat in SpaceX’s competition. The team of students from Munich, after all, has garnered the fastest pod award for three consecutive events.

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WARR Hyperloop wins the 2018 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition. [Credit: WARR Hyperloop/Flickr]

The three finalists for the 2018 Hyperloop Pod Competition were formidable teams. Apart from Team WARR, Team Delft from the Netherlands, which won the overall best pod award in SpaceX’s first Hyperloop competition, was also present. EPF Loop from Switzerland was also a finalist. When it came to the actual top speed attempts, Delft Hyperloop and EPF Loop were faced with misfortune.

Team Delft’s Hyperloop pod, for one, was only able to attain a top speed of 88 mph before stalling. The pod, which was the latest iteration of its winning design during the first Hyperloop Competition, was already showing problems in the week leading up to the event, including a fried circuit board not long before the competition. EPF Loop, on the other hand, was also met with complications that ultimately caused its pod to accelerate to speeds of only 55 mph.

Ultimately, WARR Hyperloop’s victory could very well be due to the engineering that went to the team’s pod itself. As noted by WARR Hyperloop in a press release, this year’s pod has been upgraded from a 50 kW electric motor to a system employing eight smaller electric motors with a total output of 240 kW or 320 hp. The pod is also smaller than its predecessor and is more aerodynamic in shape, allowing it to accelerate and stop without any problems.

Watch WARR Hyperloop’s teaser for its pod in the video below.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi safety monitor removal in Austin: here’s when

Musk has made the claim about removing Safety Monitors from Tesla Robotaxi vehicles in Austin three times this year, once in September, once in October, and once in November.

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Credit: @AdanGuajardo/X

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Tuesday at the xAI Hackathon that the company would be removing Safety Monitors from Robotaxis in Austin in just three weeks.

This would meet Musk’s timeline from earlier this year, as he has said on several occasions that Tesla Robotaxis would have no supervision in Austin by the end of 2025.

On Tuesday, Musk said:

“Unsupervised is pretty much solved at this point. So there will be Tesla Robotaxis operating in Austin with no one in them. Not even anyone in the passenger seat in about three weeks.”

Musk has made the claim about removing Safety Monitors from Tesla Robotaxi vehicles in Austin three times this year, once in September, once in October, and once in November.

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In September, he said:

“Should be no safety driver by end of year.”

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On the Q3 Earnings Call in October, he said:

“We are expecting ot have no safety drivers in at least large parts of Austin by the end of this year.”

Finally, in November, he reiterated the timeline in a public statement at the Shareholder Meeting:

“I expect Robotaxis to operate without safety drivers in large parts of Austin this year.”

Currently, Tesla uses Safety Monitors in Austin in the passenger’s seat on local roads. They will sit in the driver’s seat for highway routes. In the Bay Area ride-hailing operation, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat.

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Three weeks would deliver on the end-of-year promise, cutting it close, beating it by just two days. However, it would be a tremendous leap forward in the Robotaxi program, and would shut the mouths of many skeptics who state the current iteration is no different than having an Uber.

Tesla has also expanded its Robotaxi fleet this year, but the company has not given exact figures. Once it expands its fleet, even more progress will be made in Tesla’s self-driving efforts.

Tesla expands Robotaxi geofence, but not the garage

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SpaceX reportedly mulling IPO, eyeing largest of all time: report

“I do want to try to figure out some way for Tesla shareholders to participate in SpaceX. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how to give people access to SpaceX stock,” Musk said.

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX is reportedly mulling an initial public offering, eyeing what would be the largest valuation at the time of availability of all time, a new report from Bloomberg said on Tuesday.

It is one of many reports involving one of Elon Musk’s companies and a massive market move, as this is not the first time we have seen reports of an IPO by SpaceX. Musk himself has also dispelled other reports in the past of a similar nature, including an xAI funding round.

SpaceX and Musk have yet to comment on the report. In the past, untrue reports were promptly replied to by the CEO; this has not yet gained any response, which is a good sign in terms of credibility.

However, he said just a few days ago that stories of this nature are inaccurate:

“There has been a lot of press claiming SpaceX is raising money at $800B, which is not accurate. SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors. Valuation increments are a function of progress with Starship and Starlink and securing global direct-to-cell spectrum that greatly increases our addressable market. And one other thing that is arguably most significant by far.”

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Musk has discussed a potential IPO for SpaceX in recent months, as the November 6 shareholder meeting, as he commented on the “downsides” of having a public company, like litigation exposure, quarterly reporting pressures, and other inconveniences.

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Nevertheless, Musk has also said he wants there to be a way for Tesla shareholders to get in on the action. At the meeting in early November, he said:

“I do want to try to figure out some way for Tesla shareholders to participate in SpaceX. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how to give people access to SpaceX stock.”

Additionally, he added:

“Maybe at some point., SpaceX should become a public company despite all the downsides of being public.”

Musk has been historically reluctant to take SpaceX public, at times stating it could become a barrier to colonizing Mars. That does not mean it will not happen.

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Bloomberg’s report cites multiple unidentified sources who are familiar with the matter. They indicate to the publication that SpaceX wants to go public in mid-to-late 2026, and it wants to raise $30 billion at a valuation of around $1.5 trillion.

This is not the first time SpaceX has discussed an IPO; we reported on it nine years ago. We hope it is true, as the community has spoken for a long time about having access to SpaceX stock. Legendary investor Ron Baron is one of the lucky few to be a SpaceX investor, and said it, along with Tesla, is a “lifetime investment.”

Tesla bull Ron Baron reveals $100M SpaceX investment, sees 3-5x return on TSLA

The primary driver of SpaceX’s value is Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service. Starlink contributes 60-70 percent of SpaceX’s revenue, meaning it is the primary value engine. Launch services, like Falcon 9 contracts, and the development of Starship, also play supporting roles.

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SpaceX reaches incredible milestone with Starlink program

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX reached an incredible milestone with its Starlink program with a launch last night, as the 3,000th satellite of the year was launched into low Earth orbit.

On Monday, SpaceX also achieved its 32nd flight with a single Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

The mission was Starlink 6-92, and it utilized the Falcon 9 B1067 for the 32nd time this year, the most-used Falcon booster. The flight delivered SpaceX’s 3000th Starlink satellite of the year, a massive achievement.

There were 29 Starlink satellites launched and deployed into LEO during this particular mission:

SpaceX has a current goal of certifying its Falcon boosters for 40 missions apiece, according to Spaceflight Now.

The flight was the 350th orbital launch from the nearby SLC-40, and the 3,000 satellites that have been successfully launched this year continue to contribute to the company’s goal of having 12,000 satellites contributing to global internet coverage.

There are over five million users of Starlink, the latest data shows.

Following the launch and stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster completed its mission with a perfect landing on the ‘Just Read the Instructions’ droneship.

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The mission was the 575th overall Falcon 9 launch, highlighting SpaceX’s operational tempo, which continues to be accelerated. The company averages two missions per week, and underscores CEO Elon Musk’s vision of a multi-planetary future, where reliable connectivity is crucial for remote work, education, and emergency response.

As Starlink expands and works toward that elusive and crucial 12,000 satellite goal, missions like 6-92 pave the way for innovations in telecommunications and enable more internet access to people across the globe.

With regulatory approvals in over 100 countries and millions of current subscribers, SpaceX continues to democratize space, proving that reusability is not just feasible, but it’s also revolutionary.

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