Richard Branson’s group announced that on November 8, 2020, the first passengers traveled safely on Virgin Hyperloop – making transportation history. The so-called fifth mode of transport has successfully completed its first manned test of the ultra-high-speed pod transportation system in the Nevada Desert. Yesterday, Virgin Hyperloop executives Josh Giegel, its chief technology officer, and Sara Luchian, its director of passenger experience, were blasted at up to 107mph (172kph) through the DevLoop – a test track in Las Vegas that’s 500 meters long and 3.3 meters in diameter – in a journey that lasted just 15 seconds. Virgin Hyperloop claims to have conducted some 400 unmanned tests, but this latest manned test was the next major milestone towards commercial electric propulsion with passive magnetic levitation through a near-vacuum tube. The technology, if it ever comes to fruition, has the oft-touted potential to revolutionize both human and cargo transportation.