It's not quite an evacuated tube, which makes it different enough from the old concepts to be interesting. The pressure in the hyperloop tube is very low, but it's not a vacuum. This means that the tube can be relatively leaky, and the air that it does contain is also used to lift the vehicle.
All vacuums are partial. It's not a binary quality, rather vacuums are graded by how close to absolute vacuum they are. Much like 0 kelvin does not exist, but cryogenic systems are making things colder.
I'm well aware. The traditional evacuated tube is a pure vacuum for all practical purposes, with any remaining air being undesirable and having no important effects on the machine. Hyperloop requires a certain amount of air in the tube.
Early vacuum systems where actually using steam that was then condensed. So, it's not particularly high and only a 'pure' vacuum for relevant purposes.
Don't forget vacuum cleaners are hardly high vacuum systems.
Is there a point to this besides pedantry? My actual point is that the Hyperloop is something new, not just a rebranding of previous evacuated tube systems. If you have something to dispute that point, then by all means go ahead, but if you just want to quibble over me being insufficiently specific in my explanations then I'll let it be.
