SpaceX opens registration for the 2018 Hyperloop Pod competition

Following a very successful second edition of the Hyperloop Pod competition, Elon Musk's SpaceX has announced the third edition of the very successful competition. The 2018 competition will again take place at SpaceX’s 0.77-mile long test track near its Hawthorne HQ and will challenge student teams to design the best pod they can create.

Interested students can already submit applications beginning this month. Just like the two previous contests, the third one would also focus on a specific aspect- speed. This new round is open to both existing and new pod design teams, and applications are being accepted until September 29, 2016.

In the most recent Hyperloop Pod competition, which took place on August 27, Munich’s WARR Hyperloop won with a 201 mph top pod speed.

“The competition will focus on a single criterion — maxium speed,” SpaceX says on its website. CEO and founder Elon Musk said at the previous contest that there’s no reason for these pods not to reach speeds of up to 804 to 956 k/h (500 to 600 mph). “Additionally, all Pods must be self-propelled,” the site also says, which means the contestant’s pods won’t be allowed to use SpaceX’s pusher vehicle for an initial boost.

The Hyperloop Pod competition is scheduled for “Summer 2018.” Competition III will likely occur after several more tests of SpaceX’s own pusher pod, as the company aims to cross the 300 mph goal Musk previously set.