2:39 PM CDT April 8, 2018 Updated: — Tetrini (@TetriniMusic) April 8, 2018 Musk first introduced his vision for a tube-based hyperloop transportation system in a 2013 white paper, outlining the possibility of a gridlock-busting idea that could make current modes of transit passe. In the years since, Musk has gained several potential hyperloop competitors, including British tycoon and airline magnate Richard Branson. In February, the Branson-backed Virgin Hyperloop One announced plans to build a hyperloop tunnel in India that would lop roughly three hours off the travel time between the city of Pune and a planned airport in Mumbai. Last week, a Canadian startup called TransPod said it wants to raise $50 million for its own hyperloop technology aimed at ferrying passengers at speeds of more than 1,000 kilometers or roughly 622 miles an hour, Bloomberg News reported. Musk hasn't exactly been standing still. In October, the American Public Transportation Association tweeted that Musk was poised to a start a hyperloop project in Maryland. The tweet cited a Baltimore Sun report that said state officials had issued a conditional utility permit to let Musk’s tunneling firm, The Boring Company, dig a 10.3-mile tunnel beneath the Maryland-owned portion of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Musk tweeted at the time that full announcement was likely months away. Separately, Musk used a series of tweets in March to refine his futuristic transportation vision. The tweets included an animation that showed a bus-like vehicle suddenly lowering itself deep underground where it joined a flowing artery filled with similar people-filled pods. Musk described the new auto-less mission as a departure from his original concept for The Boring Company, which focuses on drilling tunnels beneath major urban centers. Initially, he planned to fill the company's tunnels with moving platforms that carried passengers' personal cars. Better video coming soon, but it would look a bit like this: pic.twitter.com/C0iJPi8b4U