Not so friendly reminder that musk specifically came up with, and pushed, for hyperloop knowing that it would never be made, as an effort to stop the development of highspeed rail in America and shift all political discussions of it because “something better is around the corner”:

As I’ve written in my book, Musk admitted to his biographer Ashlee Vance that Hyperloop was all about trying to get legislators to cancel plans for high-speed rail in California—even though he had no plans to build it. Several years ago, Musk said that public transit was “a pain in the ass” where you were surrounded by strangers, including possible serial killers, to justify his opposition.

source: new york times

Also: 2024 update, the total length of China’s high-speed rail tracks has now reached well over 45,000 km, or 28,000 miles, by the end of 2023.

They are additionally five years ahead of schedule and expect to double the total number within ten years. And, before someone inevitably complains about “how expensive it is”, they are turning over a net-profit of over $600M USD a year.

Via

  • @Cryophilia
    link
    English
    12 months ago

    …a lot of people care. An extra 30% lost would be financially ruinous for a lot of people.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      12 months ago

      It’s fortunate that increasing California’s taxes by 30% doesn’t necessarily impact a lot of people, then.

      Land value is different from acreage, so your house would see very little increase in taxes.

      I’m not evangelizing the woke narrative at you. This is just how land value taxes have always worked.

      • @Cryophilia
        link
        English
        12 months ago

        It would absolutely affect Californians. 30% is a lot. The money has to come from somewhere

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          12 months ago

          And yet, it wouldn’t be 30% on a lot of Californians. The ones who would pay the most are landlords who would not be financially ruined. You need to read the Wikipedia article.

          • @Cryophilia
            link
            English
            12 months ago

            Told you, not interested. I don’t think you even care about high speed rail.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              1
              edit-2
              2 months ago

              If you’re not willing to learn how taxes work, then you should stop trying to spread that ignorance.

              • @Cryophilia
                link
                English
                12 months ago

                Yeah that’s what I thought