Elon Musk says he received ‘verbal approval’ to build huge Hyperloop route, but the US government says otherwise

Elon Musk sent social media into meltdown with a series of tweets on Thursday claiming he had “verbal government approval” to build Hyperloop One tunnels between major cities in the eastern US.

Musk claimed he’d been given the nod for his Boring Company to dig tunnels between New York and Washington DC via Philadelphia and Baltimore – with the roughly 220-mile trip between completed in just 29 minutes.

However, Musk has since had to row back on those claims slightly, after reports emerged of multiple government officials in the US and specifically the cities involved denying any approval – verbal or otherwise – had been given for any Hyperloop developments.

According to The Washington Post, the US government has had “conversations” with Musk, but nothing has been agreed or approved just yet.

A White House spokesman told several US news outlets: “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.”

On Twitter, Musk went on to call for those interested in seeing the project come to fruition to get in touch with their “local and federal elected representatives” and offer their support to his plan.

Musk has never hidden his lofty ambitions for Hyperloop, the magnetic levitation transport system that uses maglev carriages which “float” above tracks and move through vacuum tubes with reduced friction and can therefore travel at much higher speeds.

Potentially up to 760 miles per hour, in fact.

Hyperloop has already constructed a test track in the Nevada desert, and founder Musk has spoken frequently about plans to bring it to cities and countries around the world.

Earlier this month, Hyperloop confirmed it had successfully completed its first full systems test and unveiled the first prototype Hyperloop One Pod to transport passengers and cargo.

However, official confirmation of a commercial construction of Hyperloop routes is likely to still be some way off.