VTOL Passenger Aircraft Would Possibly Be Electric-Powered

One thing certain about Elon Musk … the creator of PayPal, SpaceX, and Tesla … is that he's never short on big ideas. His latest is said to be an airliner that would take off and land vertically, but have the capability for supersonic speeds, and perhaps be powered by electricity.

The Irish newspaper The Independent reports that Musk (pictured) said he has a full plate with projects such as a private mission to Mars as well as other SpaceX and Tesla programs, but he thinks a company that would be charged with building such an aircraft should be established at some point in the future.

Musk's remarks came during a Google Hangout event which also featured Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson. He said he could see a day when journeys of more than 1,000 miles could be undertaken by a supersonic passenger jet. While Musk said he has no plans to set up such a company anytime soon, if he were to do another company, it would be to create an aircraft that is a supersonic, vertical takeoff and landing electric jet. “I think that is the ultimate form of transport," he said.

He said he wished "someone would do that," and that if another entrepreneur doesn't come along and start such a project, "maybe at some point in the future I will."

Musk did on Friday release drawings and plans for a solar-powered high-speed transportation system he's dubbed  "Hyperloop." which would transport passengers between cities at near the speed of sound. Such a system could carry people between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 30 minutes, Musk said.

Bloomberg Business week reports that Musk's vision is for aluminum pods inside steel tubes that could carry passengers as well as a few cars. He said current plans for a high-speed rail system in California are too expensive, too slow, or impractical.

He said that the Hyperloop could take the place of air travel between cities less than 1,000 miles apart. Beyond that, he said, the cost of the tube becomes "prohibitive."

FMI: www.spacex.com