Elon Musk announced the Hyperloop Alpha concept in 2013. He published the proposal as an open-source design for a high-speed transportation system using passenger or cargo pods moving through low-pressure tubes.
The concept described a route between the Los Angeles area and San Francisco, with pods traveling at very high speed in partially evacuated tubes. Musk presented the Hyperloop as a possible alternative to a proposed high-speed rail connection, although he did not create a company to build the system at that time.
The proposal encouraged other organizations to pursue development. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies and Hyperloop One, later called Virgin Hyperloop, were among the companies that explored related technologies. Universities and student teams also held pod-design competitions connected with the idea.
The Hyperloop Alpha document was a concept proposal rather than an operating public transportation system. It is therefore different from SpaceX’s rockets and Tesla’s production vehicles, both of which became commercial hardware programs.