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Time is running out if you want to compete in Elon Musk's Hyperloop pod contest

Elon Musk Hyperloop Portrait Illustration
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider

Time is running out for those interested in competing in Elon Musk’s Hyperloop pod competition.

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Tuesday is the last day teams are able to register for the contest, which is hosted by Musk’s company SpaceX. So far, more than 1,200 teams have thrown their hat in the ring, but the final number of participants could be much larger.

SpaceX announced the competition in June in hopes of finding the perfect Hyperloop pod design. The contest, which is open to university students as well as teams of independent engineers, quickly attracted a lot of interest and in just one week had 700 entrants.

While the company is not yet releasing a list of all the teams entered into the contest, many teams have already begun broadcasting their participation.

The University of Southern California, Purdue University, and the University of Illinois are just a few of the teams that have confirmed their plans to participate.

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Students at Delft University of Technology are also planning to participate and have even listed their corporate partners, which include SpaceX and Tesla. Tech Insider reached out to TU Delft and SpaceX regarding the partnership citation. TU Delft has not yet responded, but SpaceX confirmed it was not a sponsor of university teams. 

The first part of the competition called Design Weekend will take place in January at Texas A&M University when teams will present their pod designs. Selected teams will then move on to the second part of the competition where they will actually build their pod for trial.

SpaceX is building a one-mile test track at its headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. where chosen teams will test their pod next June.

In the official rules published on SpaceX’s website, the company states that teams are encouraged to begin looking for sponsorships now. But it also states teams will be able to win sponsorships during Design Weekend.

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SpaceX still hasn’t said what the final winners of the competition will receive, but did mention in its official rules that small cash prizes are possible.

Elon Musk Transportation
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