Hyperloop One set a new company record when it reached a blistering 242 mph outside of Las Vegas on Friday — and days later, it gained a famous billionaire.
The company named Richard Branson its chairman on Monday, rebranding itself as Virgin Hyperloop One, Axios reports. It hopes to one day zip commuters across the country at 700 mph.
Virgin Hyperloop One's previous tests in the Mojave Desert clearly impressed the global airline tycoon, who has helped secure over $100 million in funding for the company since October.
The most recent test, which the company released video of on Monday, shows the pod reaching 50 mph faster than its previous record of 192 mph.
The sealed tube the pods travel in enable the sleek vehicles to reach such high speeds. The concept for any hyperloop is sucking the air out of the tube, leaving a nearly airless, frictionless environment for travel. In this case, Virgin Hyperloop One said in a statement that they achieved an "equivalent air pressure experienced at 200,000 feet above sea level."
These milestones are impressive, but perhaps the greatest hurdle to realizing a hyperloop is successfully building sealed off vacuum-tubes hundreds of miles long -- or longer. Virgin Hyperloop One's current test track, Devloop, is 1,620 feet long, a little under one-third of a mile.
But with a longer distance will come more speed. This will require the company to substantially expand their test track -- and then make sure they can seal it off. Fortunately for them, a billionaire with deep pockets has joined their team.
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