Musk says the Hyperloop tunnel to be unveiled December 10

ELON MUSK AND THE HYPERLOOP. Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk speaks at the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico City on September 27, 2016. Hector Guerrero / AFP

NEW YORK, USA – Elon Musk's ultra-high speed high speed transport system will be unveiled in Los Angeles in early December, with the entrepreneur announced.

"The first tunnel is almost done," Musk said on Twitter late Sunday night. "Opens Dec 10."

Responding to comments on Twitter, Musk said there would be an opening event that night and "free rides for the public next day."

Musk's venture, "The Boring Company," has been pushing the underground system as a futuristic concept that could radically speed transport between and between cities.

In another tweeted response, Musk said the test tunnel has a top speed of 155 miles per hour (250 kilometers).

Los Angeles and San Francisco might take 30 minutes instead of five or six hours.

A hyperloop is a shuttle pod that travels on magnetic rails, somewhat like a train, but which runs in a tube with little or no air. In theory, hyperloops could be faster than the speed of sound.

In a presentation in Los Angeles in May, Musk said that they could reach downtown from within 10 minutes, with a long-term objective of reaching over 300 miles an hour.

Hyperloop is one of Musk's envelope-pushing ventures, along with SpaceX and Tesla Motors. Shares of Tesla have fallen more than 30% since August 7, when he infamously tweeted that he had paid for it.

He subsequently paid a $ 20 million fine to settle after the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused the entrepreneur of fraud.

Another visionary entrepreneur, Richard Branson, who is a Virgin Hyperloop One who has been tested in Nevada and opened a research center in southern Spain.

Virgin Hyperloop One confirmed on Monday that Branson is stepping down from its board of directors, saying the company "needs a more hands-on chairman."

Branson's seat on the board will go to another Virgin Group executive.

No mention was made of a decision last week by Branson to suspend two directorships linked to tourism projects in Saudi Arabia following the unexplained disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In a statement last week, Branson also said that his Virgin Group would suspend talks with Saudi Arabia over proposed investment in Virgin Galactic, which is set to carry out its first flight.

"What has reportedly happened in Turkey around the journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappearance, if proved true, would clearly change the ability of the West to do business with the Saudi government," Branson said.

Several startups have also been taken out of the country by their musk about five years ago.

Canadian company Transpod is working to begin testing the system in France. – Rappler.com