Despite the hype, some are skeptical of the feasibility of the high-speed transit concept, and the project has several milestones to pass before it can be realistically implemented, experts say.

"We need something like this and Elon has a reputation for delivering the impossible so he has to be encouraged," Rod Diridon, executive director at the Mineta Transportation Institute, told "Squawk Box" Tuesday. "The problem is that we have to have an operating prototype before we can identify the actual cost of development."

(Related: Why the Hyperloop is not just wishful thinking)



"The next step—if he's really in this game—is to develop a truly operational prototype that can be compared with the other modes in the world," Diridon added.



Musk unveiled Monday what he has called the "alpha" version of the Hyperloop plan in a blog post on Monday. It runs to 57 pages as a PDF file.

The plan is aimed at cutting the travel time between San Francisco and Los Angeles to 30 minutes at a price that's less than an airline ticket. Musk said the Hyperloop arrangement could be implemented between any pair of cities situated up to, say, 900 miles apart. For longer distances, air travel probably would be more efficient, he said.

(Read more: Musk unveils plans for $10 billion Hyperloop transportation system)



Musk said he came up with the plan out of frustration with the shortcomings of California's $68 billion high-speed rail project, which is just getting started.