Musk has said he has no plans to build the system but offered the 'open source design' to allow others to pursue a venture. He's called the system a cross between a 'Concorde, a rail gun and an air hockey table.'

Jon Favreau, director of 'Iron Man,' has referred to Musk as a modern-day 'Renaissance man.'

In an article for Time, Favreau said he and actor Robert Downey Jr. modeled the main character in the movie -- 'genius billionaire Tony Stark' -- after the Silicon Valley star.

Musk told Time that his goal was to be 'involved in things that are going to make a significant difference to the future of humanity.'

South Africa-born Musk has become one of America's best-known innovators, having launched a payments company, electric carmaker Tesla Motors, SpaceX and SolarCity, which makes solar panels for homes and businesses.

The Hyperloop pods will travel inside sealed tubes (pictured) at close to the speed of sound

The test comes just two days after another company, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, demonstrated its magnetic levitation technology (concept drawings of its Hyperloop network pictured)