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@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    2 months ago

    Look, I’m not gonna bother with your evangelist tax pitch. Increasing the tax revenues of California by at least 30% is A LOT of new taxes, regardless of the source.

    • explodicleEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      Ok but who cares? We should increase them even more than 30%.

        • explodicleEnglish
          1·
          2 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.

            • explodicleEnglish
              1·
              2 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.