Report: Elon Musk's 'hyperloop' idea could work

Enthusiasts behind Elon Musk's "hyperloop" proposal (an intercity tube that speeds passengers riding in capsules at 600 miles per hour) have taken the next step, producing a report outlying some of the big issues around the project.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies' 76-page report focuses issues surrounding a system that could connect San Francisco with Los Angeles.

The report says, however, that there are many city pairs around the world that would be candidates for a hyperloop.

The 400-plus-mile trip would take less than an hour, compared to more than six hours of driving.

The goal is to keep the ticket price in the $20 to $30 range, although the report points out that at total cost estimates of $16 billion, they could go higher.

Still, it says, hyperloop would be a bargain compared to alternatives. "If this same overall price point were preserved for other city pairings, it could dramatically change the way people live and work in cities," the report says.

Read more: Musk, CEO of electric car maker Tesla Motors and rocket producer Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, announced the hyperloop project last year, although he hasn't talked about it much since.