In pursuit of that quest for legitimacy, they’ve released another promotional video both explaining and teasing some of the Hyperloop’s capabilities. While it doesn’t necessarily expound on what we’ve already been told about Virgin’s plans, it does show how serious it is about bringing the pods to fruition.
Rendered passengers aside, the Hyperloop — which uses mag-lev technology to propel vessels in a vacuum-sealed tube — is a very exciting prospect and one that has had some very preliminary success.
Last November, Virgin conducted its first-ever test with real humans, launching two passengers down a 500-meter test tube at nearly 110 mph.
Virgin’s Hyperloop also looks a lot more convincing when you put it in context. A concurrent effort to build a hyperloop from Elon Musk is shaping up to be mostly just a bunch of Teslas driving around an underground tunnel, which is fine, but maybe not quite the Future of Transportation it was billed as.