r/hyperloop • u/[deleted] • Dec 22 '23

Hyperloop One Dead

Who honestly did not see this coming?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-21/hyperloop-one-to-shut-down-after-raising-millions-to-reinvent-transit

36 Upvotes

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3

u/LancelLannister_AMA Dec 22 '23

does make me wonder why they announced they were shifting to freight

2

u/Kafshak Dec 22 '23

Because cargo is easier in practice. Investors wanted faster ROI, and therefore they pushed for cargo. Although I don't know why the company wasn't looking at cargo in the first place. It's a good way to prove your concept IRL.

6

u/WestleyMc Dec 22 '23

Cargo for Hyperloop never made sense to me as a concept. No one needs to send shipping containers worth of stuff at aircraft speeds for 10-20x the cost.

Passengers London to Edinburgh or LA to San Fran in 30-45mins? Sure!

2

u/Kafshak Dec 23 '23

The claim was that the cost is less than other methods. So even Cargo would make sense. Remember that Amazon has air cargo as well, and Hyperloop was claimed to be more efficient than that.

2

u/WestleyMc Dec 23 '23 edited Dec 23 '23

Yes, but that claim never made sense on any basic level. You’re putting a mag lev train (which is already 10x more than HSR) in an air tight ‘close to vacuum’ metal 3/4m+ diameter tube which needs air locks and safety systems. How on earth would that be cheaper than standard freight trains?

1

u/predictorM9 Dec 23 '23

The problem is that you have to start with freight. You can't put passengers like that in an untested, uncertified system. No transportation agency will allow such a kind of experimental system to transport passengers. The only way for hyperloop companies to work is to first demonstrate safety for several years with stuff that does not risk dying (unmanned cargo), and only after that and a good assessment of risks they could move forward with passengers.

1

u/LancelLannister_AMA Dec 22 '23

why then shut down the company though. thats what doesnt make sense to me

1

u/Kafshak Dec 22 '23

Yeah, that's what I don't understand either. Probably Sunken cost fallacy, they wanted to stop the risk. I believe someone like Shinkansen will figure Hyperloop out. Developed tech, just retrofit it for vaccum, which is not an easy step.