 test track built by Hyperloop One outside Las Vegas and a prototype on display at the headquarters of rocket company SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. Technical challenges and huge costs have proved difficult to overcome. Last week, it emerged the mile-long Hawthorne tunnel would be removed to make room for a car park. On Saturday, however, The Boring Company, a tunnelling business started by Mr Musk, said it was working on 'hyperloop testing'. Hyperloop One has raised north of $400m (£351m) for its technology, but earlier this year axed more than 100 staff as it shifted its business plan. A spokesman for DP World, the Dubai investor that is Hyperloop One's majority shareholder, said it continued to support the company. 'We believe hyperloop technology will form a core part of trade networks that move goods to consumers where and when they need them,' the spokesman said.){kind=link}
Decision comes as a result of the company’s ‘change in short-term priorities’
Sir Richard Branson is preparing to sell off Virgin’s stake in a US hyperloop start-up as interest in the technology envisioned by Twitter billionaire Elon Musk fades.
A source said Virgin will begin stripping its branding from US business Hyperloop One over the coming weeks and will divest its equity stake at the same time. It has already removed its logo from the company’s website.
Sir Richard’s company acquired a small stake in Hyperloop One in 2017, rebranding it as Virgin Hyperloop One.
The Hyperloop is a theoretical alternative to high-speed rail, where pods fly through steel tubes at up to 760 miles per hour. The technology was first proposed by Mr Musk in 2013, prompting a clutch of start-ups to attempt to build one.