Hyperloop efforts will now be focused on cargo transport.
Virgin HyperloopPlanning to travel from Los Angeles to Vegas in only 40 minutes in the future? You might have to scratch that plan. The company behind Hyperloop said it’s abandoning its plans for developing a revolutionary, ultra-fast pod for passenger use and will focus solely on cargo, reported The Financial Times.
On Friday, Virgin Hyperloop, the Richard Branson-backed company behind Hyperloop, reportedly let 111 employees go. The layoffs were announced during a video conference, according to The Financial Times. The company told The Times that it’s changing direction, responding to increased customer interest in cargo services.
The premise behind Hyperloop is as simple as it is revolutionary – high-tech pods zooming through airless tubes at speeds of up to 670 miles per hour. It was built on Elon Musk’s open-source idea for sustainable, high-speed travel. The company even built a prototype tube in the Nevada desert, just outside Las Vegas, to prove its vision could come to life.
Before this pivot to freight, the company was hoping to have full certification for the Hyperloop by 2025. Its passenger prototype, which was first tested with real passengers in 2020, had room for two people. The company said at the time the final pods would sit up to 28 passengers.
The layoffs, Hyperloop told The Financial Times, will allow the company to operate more efficiently and respond to global supply issues caused by the pandemic.
Futuristic passenger transportation is not the first industry that has been affected by chain supply issues. From pickup trucks to smartphones, global chip shortages have slowed down supply chains across multiple industries around the world.
We reached out to Virgin Hyperloop for a comment and will update this story when we hear back.
