Well, you've got some pretty good answers, but I'll give it a go as well.
No. There is no way that a similarly capable system will be remotely close in price to conventional rail. Musk's estimates were wildly optimistic at best, and the system he proposed would have a small fraction of the capacity of HSR, for example.
The advantage of a vacuum train (let's not pretend it is Musk's invention) is top speed. In some scenarios, this may be worthwhile, but it's natural comparison would be short haul flights, not passenger rail.
No. There is no way that a similarly capable system will be remotely close in price to conventional rail. Musk's estimates were wildly optimistic at best, and the system he proposed would have a small fraction of the capacity of HSR, for example.
The advantage of a vacuum train (let's not pretend it is Musk's invention) is top speed. In some scenarios, this may be worthwhile, but it's natural comparison would be short haul flights, not passenger rail.