Dem lawmaker to Elon Musk: Build your hyperloop in Texas

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) called on Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk to build a hyperloop in Texas after the billionaire tweeted he had received “verbal approval” from the “government” to build a hyperloop transit system between Washington, D.C., and New York City.

“Build it in Texas,” Castro tweeted Thursday. “Texas should be building @ElonMusk Hyperloop,” he added in a separate message.

Build it in Texas. https://t.co/zJPRniy5D2

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) July 20, 2017

Texas should be building @ElonMusk Hyperloop.

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) July 20, 2017

It was unclear what Musk meant with his initial tweet regarding “verbal” approval, but in subsequent tweets the billionaire explained that more work is needed before formal approval is granted for his company, the Boring Company, to build the futuristic high-speed transit system between the two cities.

Just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop. NY-DC in 29 mins.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 20, 2017

Still a lot of work needed to receive formal approval, but am optimistic that will occur rapidly

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 20, 2017

{mosads}If completed, the hyperloop is designed to shuttle passengers from New York to Washington in a half-hour or less.

A White House spokesperson told The Hill that the administration has had favorable conversations with the tech billionaire, but declined to say if he had been granted any approval.

“We have had promising conversations to date, are committed to transformative infrastructure projects and believe our greatest solutions have often come from the ingenuity and drive of the private sector,” the spokesperson said.

The Department of Transportation did not immediately return The Hill’s request for comment.

Boring Company, which was born out of Musk’s frustration with traffic, aims to create tunnels to reduce car congestion. On its website, the Boring Company says that such tunnels “would also make Hyperloop adoption viable.”

A spokesman for the company elaborated on Musk’s remarks in a statement to the Washington Examiner, saying “key decision makers” had granted “verbal support” to the project.

“The Boring Company has had a number of promising conversations with local, state, and federal government officials. With a few exceptions, feedback has been very positive, and we have received verbal support from key government decision makers for tunneling plans, including a Hyperloop route from New York to Washington, D.C.,” a spokesman told the Washington Examiner.