Virgin Hyperloop Transports First Passengers In Nevada Trial

The Virgin Hyperloop pod has successfully made its first journey with human passengers at more than 100 mph in the Nevada desert, the company said Monday.

What Happened: Virgin Hyperloop has made transportation history by testing human travel in a hyperloop pod for the first time. The test took place at Virgin Hyperloop’s 500-meter DevLoop test site in Las Vegas.

The two passengers on the Virgin Hyperloop were Josh Giegel, the company's CTO and co-founder, and Sara Luchian, the director of passenger experience.

Why It Matters: The new mode of transport is expected to transform the way people move and travel around the world. The testing campaign was overseen by the industry-recognized Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) Certifer.

The XP-2 vehicle demonstrates many of the safety-critical systems that will be found on a commercial hyperloop system and is equipped with a control system that can detect off-nominal states and rapidly trigger appropriate emergency responses according to the company. 

“When we started in a garage over six years ago, the goal was simple — to transform the way people move,” Giegel said in a statement.

“Today, we took one giant leap toward that ultimate dream, not only for me, but for all of us who are looking towards a moonshot right here on Earth.” 

Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group and is co-founder of Virgin Galactic Holdings SPCE.

Virgin Orbit, a company within the Virgin Group, has "spent about $1 billion so far," with a budget for four attempts to reach orbit.

“With today’s successful test, we have shown that this spirit of innovation will in fact change the way people everywhere live, work, and travel in the years to come,” Branson said in a statement. 

SPCE Price Action: Virgin Galactic’s stock was trading up 7.99% at $20.55 at last check Monday. The stock has a 52-week high of $42.49 and a 52-week low of $6.90.

Related Link: Virgin Galactic Reports Q1 Earnings, Secures NASA Space Contract

Virgin Hyperloop passengers Josh Giegel, left, the company's CTO and co-founder, and Sara Luchian, the director of passenger experience. Courtesy photo.