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SpaceX celebrates 2018 Hyperloop competition success, opens 2019 registration

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SpaceX has released a video commemorating the amazing successes of its 2018 Hyperloop Pod Competition at the same time as it’s opened up registration for next year’s follow-up competition, paving (pipelaying?) the way for another throwdown that will seek to once again crown victorious the student team with the fastest pod.

With any luck to next year’s competitors, one or several of those 2019 entrants may once more smash the 2018 world speed record, faster than any production car in history at a whiplash-triggering 467 km/h (290 mph).

With that 290 mph top speed confirmed after WARR’s third 2018 pod run, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) student-led operation solidified itself – for the second time in a row – as the team to beat, breaking their own 2017 Competition 2 speed record of 324 km/h (202 mph) by nearly 50%, a record that itself smashed WARR’s own 90 km/h (~56 mph) top speed record from the inaugural Hyperloop Competition just six months prior. Now the proud holder of three of three Hyperloop Competition top-speed trophies, all eyes will once more be on WARR in anticipation of yet another spectacle of smashed records.

 

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As noted on SpaceX’s website, that fourth upcoming competition – scheduled for the summer of 2019 – features two major updates to the rules and winning criteria.

As with previous competitions, the competition will be judged solely on one criteria [sic]: maximum speed with successful deceleration (i.e. without crashing) and all Pods must be self-propelled.

1. Teams must use their own communications system. SpaceX will not provide its on-Pod communications system, otherwise known as the Network Access Panel (NAP).

2. Pods must be designed and tested to propel themselves to within 100 feet of the far end of the tube before stopping. This can take the form of a single main run to that point, or a “slow crawl” after the Pod’s main run has been completed. 

In essence, SpaceX is continuing to gradually remove crutches, encouraging student teams to become more and more independent, especially useful for returning groups. Communication with pods is surprisingly difficult, as any solution chosen must function reliably, wirelessly, and in vacuum conditions, meaning that 2019 competitors will face another major challenge while designing new pods or updating older entrants.

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WARR Hyperloop poses in front of their third (of three) top-speed trophy and the pod that made it possible. (WARR Hyperloop)

Meanwhile, the decision to require pods to either be able to accurately stop with an error of less than 2% the test Hyperloop’s length (100 feet) or be capable of multiple modes of propulsion (i.e. top-speed runs and “slow-crawl” without assistance from its designers) should add another level of difficulty and intrigue to 2019’s Hyperloop competition. Critically, returning teams – if accepted – will be required to significantly modify their existing pod or design a new pod if they wish to compete in 2019.

Catch SpaceX’s 2018 Competition below and visit SpaceX.com/Hyperloop in the event that you are a student, have a team, and want to build your very own super-fast Hyperloop pod.


For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla gets its best analysis from Morgan Stanley as ‘it’s all about to change’

He maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating and the $410 price target Morgan Stanley had on the stock.

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has gotten perhaps its best analysis from Morgan Stanley in quite some time, as the Wall Street firm claims that “it’s all about to change.”

That phrase could be used for both the company’s status and the world in general.

Analyst Adam Jonas said in a new note on Thursday to investors that Tesla could be one of the major winners in terms of the global transition from what it is now to what it will be.

He describes the global shift that will occur over the next few years:

“Have you interacted with a robot today? Have you even seen a robot today? No? Well, take a mental picture because it’s all about to change. When we meet someone who has never been in a Waymo or a Tesla Cybercab (which is most people), we frequently see a wince and a response such as ‘I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable getting in a car without a driver.’ We imagine going back in time to 1903 and asking people if they’d feel comfortable in an airplane.’”

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The same technological revolutions that have occurred over the past 150 years will continue to occur again and again. We are on the verge of another, Jonas believes, as companies like Tesla are working on artificial intelligence tech, which includes changing the way we look at things like transportation and labor.

Jonas includes an interesting tidbit in his note about how humanoid robots could change wages, and how it could work into the advantage of Tesla, especially as it is developing its own Optimus robot:

“We estimate 1 humanoid robot at $5/hour can do the work of 2 humans at $25/hour, generating an NPV of approximately $200k/humanoid. 1 robot shaped car can potentially drive down cost/mile of a ride share vehicle to <$0.20 mile (1/10th human-driven ride-share).”

Jonas sees Tesla as a key player in how AI will impact things like manufacturing and various automotive industries, and he believes there is long-term potential for AI, robomobility, and even autonomous eVTOL platforms.

Tesla stock: Morgan Stanley says eVTOL is calling Elon Musk for new chapter

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He maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating and the $410 price target Morgan Stanley had on the stock.

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Tesla expands Robotaxi program in Austin to new riders

Tesla has been expanding both the rider group and the geofence in Austin slowly, making sure to prioritize safety and avoid any major events with the early rollout.

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Credit: @TerrapinTerpene/X

Tesla is expanding its Robotaxi program in Austin, Texas, as several people have received invitations to participate and take rides.

Tesla first launched the Robotaxi platform on June 22. It invited a handful of people to participate in the first-ever public rides. We were lucky enough to get an invitation, and our permissions have been expanded in the Bay Area pilot program as well.

The group was small and consisted of big names in the Tesla community. It expanded and is continuing to offer these exclusive invitations to notable members of the Tesla community.

There have been fewer than five subsequent invitations after the first group’s were sent in late June:

Tesla has been expanding both the rider group and the geofence in Austin slowly, making sure to prioritize safety and avoid any major events with the early rollout.

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Tesla’s new Robotaxi geofence shape is an FU by Elon Musk to the competition

“We are being very cautious. We do not want to take any chances, so we are going to go cautiously. But the service areas and the number of vehicles in operation will increase at a hyper-exponential rate,” CEO Elon Musk said during the Q2 Earnings Call.

Eventually, the Robotaxi platform will not require an invite, and it will operate without geofences. Musk believes Tesla can get there within three or six months, and plans to have at least half of the U.S. population with access to a Robotaxi by the end of the year:

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“I think we will probably have autonomous ride-hailing in probably half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year. That’s at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals. I think we will technically be able to do it. Assuming we have regulatory approvals, it’s probably addressing half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year.”

Tesla plans to have regulatory approval in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida sooner than in other states.

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Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand

To ensure that menu items are both available in plentiful quantities and fresh, the menu could feature some seasonal options moving forward.

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tesla diner
Credit: Tesla

Tesla has made a major change at its Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles as the location is experiencing epic amounts of demand after launch.

The Supercharger Diner was an idea of CEO Elon Musk’s way back in 2018. It took some time to come to fruition, but it has finally opened, serving its first customers in July.

Tesla Supercharger Diner officially opens: menu, prices, features, and more

Upon its launch, people lined up around the block to give the restaurant a try. There were some who admitted to waiting 13 hours for the doors to open, which finally did at 4:20 p.m. local time.

If you know anything about Tesla, you know that the time fits the bill for the company.

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Tesla Cybertruck leftovers are the main course at the Supercharger Diner

Nevertheless, it has basically been a non-stop operation since its grand opening. It’s already available to serve customers 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. These hours, along with the long-awaited grand opening, have brought tens of thousands of customers in the first few weeks.

As a result, the Diner’s chef, Eric Greenspan, revealed there will be some things that will no longer be on the menu as it handles “unprecedented demand.”

He told Eater the menu would be “forever evolving.” It has, as a result, now been void of the following menu items:

  • Market Salad
  • Club Sandwich
  • Hashbrown Bites
  • Biscuits and Red Gravy
  • Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Vegan Patty option for Burger
  • Waffles are now only served in the morning, instead of all day
  • Soft serve will return this week. It’s provided by a local farm, which couldn’t handle the demand
  • Reimagined fountain drinks

Tesla focused on sourcing a vast majority of the food from local sources. This is likely why it has been forced to scale back much of its menu for the time being. When restaurants source their food and beverages locally, their menus change frequently.

To ensure that menu items are both available in plentiful quantities and fresh, the menu could feature some seasonal options moving forward.

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