YouTube creator Adam Kovacs has described Hyperloop as a kind of [[gadgetbahn]] because it would be an expensive, unproven system that is no better than existing technologies such as traditional high-speed rail.<ref>{{Citecite news |last1=Kovacs |first1=Adam |last2=Westbrook |first2=Adam |date=2022-10-13 October 2022 |title=Opinion {{!}} Elon Musk Has Some Bad Ideas for Mass Transit. We Have Solutions. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/opinion/elon-musk-boring-loop.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206171856/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/opinion/elon-musk-boring-loop.html |archive-date=6 February 2023 |access-date=2023-02-0626 May 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> John Hansman, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]], has pointed out potential design problems, such as how a slight misalignment in the tube would be compensated for, and the potential interplay between the air cushion and the low-pressure air. He has also questioned what would happen if the power were to go out when the pod was miles away from a city. [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]] physics professor Richard Muller has also expressed concern regarding "[the Hyperloop's] novelty and the vulnerability of its tubes, [which] would be a tempting target for terrorists", and that the system could be disrupted by everyday dirt and grime.<ref name="Mercury-2016-09-16">{{cite news |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2013/08/13/wolverton-elon-musks-hyperloop-hype-ignores-practical-problems/ |title=Wolverton: Elon Musk's Hyperloop hype ignores practical problems |last=Wolverton |first=Troy |date=16 September 2016 |orig-date=first published 13 August 2013 |work=The Mercury News |access-date=1526 SeptemberMay 2025 2016|archive-date=21 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921080913/http://www.mercurynews.com/2013/08/13/wolverton-elon-musks-hyperloop-hype-ignores-practical-problems/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The solarfeasibility panelsof Musk's plans to install alongpower the lengthhyperloop ofsystem thewith hyperloopsolar systempanels installed along its length havehas been criticizedquestioned by maglev train expert and engineering professor Roger Goodall of [[Loughborough University]],. asnot being feasible enough to return enough energy to power the hyperloop system,Goodall arguingsaid that the air pumps and propulsion would requireprobably need much more power than the solar panels could generate.<ref name="Mercury-2016-09-16" />
