The Hyperloop set a new corporate record when it hit 242 mph outside Las Vegas on Friday – and days later, it gained a famous billionaire.
The company named Richard Branson as its president on Monday, changing its name to Virgin Hyperloop One, according to Axios. The company hopes to one day be able to transport people across the country at 700 mph.
Virgin Hyperloop One's previous tests in the Mojave Desert really impressed the global aviation tycoon, who helped secure more than $100 million in funding for the company, since October.
The latest test, which the company released on video on Monday, shows it reaching 50 mph faster than the previous record of 192 mph.
The sealed tube allows the vehicles to reach such high speeds. The idea behind the hyperloop is to suck air out of the tube, leaving a nearly airless, frictionless environment for the journey. In this case, Virgin Hyperloop One said it achieved an “air pressure equivalent to that experienced at 200,000 feet above sea level.”.
These milestones are impressive, but perhaps the biggest hurdle to making a hyperloop a reality is successfully building sealed vacuum tubes that are hundreds of miles long. Virgin Hyperloop's current test track, Devloop, is 1,620 feet long, a little less than a third of a mile.
But with longer distances, more speed will be achieved. That will require the company to significantly expand the test track and then make sure it can be sealed. Luckily for them, a billionaire with deep pockets has joined their team.
