In a paper made available on SpaceX.com, California billionaire and innovator Elon Musk proposed a USD6 billion, solar-powered transport system called the Hyperloop on Monday. Taking 7-10 years to build, the transport system will consist of a network of crashproof capsules that promises a new era for travel.

According to BBC news, Musk said in a conference call that passengers would experience a slight discomfort compared with the air compression of an airplane. Cabins inside the capsules will travel up to 760mph per, and at 30 second intervals. The capsules can also carry freight no bigger than cars.

Although busy with current projects SpaceX and Tesla Motors, Musk was quoted that he would draft a prototype, but a demonstration model would take up to four years to complete. Moreover, he also said that the project would only be applicable in cities closer than a thousand miles in distance. The one-way fare is estimated at USD20 or EUR13, Musk said.

Reuters reported that according to Musk in a blog post, the Hyperloop proposal stemmed from a challenge to provide a cheaper alternative to Governor Jerry Brown's USD68 billion California high-speed rail system. Perhaps Brown is confident that the state can afford expenditures that grand, as the governor forecast that the state is USD817 million richer this year and has improved its credit rating, as disclosed in a Bloomberg report.