[tod222]

There have been some comments, but I'm not sure I've seen this excellent take on the issue.

From the linked document:

> So what’s the value of getting the vibration mode shapes of this little section of the Hyperloop? Simple: it makes pretty pictures you can put in your proposal.

and

> Nothing in this section of the proposal has “demonstrated the capability of the Hyperloop,” nor was it intended to. This is not simply an error. This is eyewash for the rubes, the surest sign you’re dealing with a snake oil salesman.

And now the winning design from MIT drops the air hockey suspension for conventional magnetic levitation.

The purpose of Hyperloop isn't to build a fast, new LA-SF link, it's to kill the California High-Speed Rail project. It's a classic case of FUD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt