Futuristic Hyperloop Capsule to Fly at Speed of 1,100 km/h

Josh Giegel, co-founder and CEO of Virgin Hyperloop, walks next to a hyperloop tube at the company's hyperloop facility near Las Vegas, Nevada, May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Josh Giegel, co-founder and CEO of Virgin Hyperloop, walks next to a hyperloop tube at the company's hyperloop facility near Las Vegas, Nevada, May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake
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Futuristic Hyperloop Capsule to Fly at Speed of 1,100 km/h

Josh Giegel, co-founder and CEO of Virgin Hyperloop, walks next to a hyperloop tube at the company's hyperloop facility near Las Vegas, Nevada, May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Josh Giegel, co-founder and CEO of Virgin Hyperloop, walks next to a hyperloop tube at the company's hyperloop facility near Las Vegas, Nevada, May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake

While the world talked about Hyperloop travel since plans were announced in 2018 to one day connect Cleveland to Chicago in 28 minutes or Cleveland to Pittsburgh in 19, the renderings have always been from the outside.

Now, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, the group behind the Cleveland project, is giving us the inside look.

“This is the interior that we’re building for the first Hyperloop system, so a version of this is what you’ll be able to ride for the first Hyperloop between Chicago and Cleveland,” said Robert Miller, HyperloopTT’s chief marketing officer.

The capsules of around 30 meters in length use passive magnetics to levitate in essentially a vacuum tube where they can travel smoothly at speeds of up to 700 miles (1,100 km) an hour. “The ride is completely smooth so passengers could drink a cup of coffee,” said Miller.

The capsule is spacious, equipped with interesting artificial sunlight technology, and an artificial skylight where it feels like you’re outside, or gazing at the night sky. It also has speakers embedded in the headrests. It’s personalized, so the seat knows who you are, knows your name if you want it to. It’s also a place where you’re able to pick up on your Netflix show right where you left off at home just flipping open the tablet and by a metric scan.

“The ideal situation is you moving from one place to the next on your living room sofa right. So, we want to recreate all the comforts of home within a Hyperloop,” said Miller.

The big boost to the group’s efforts came in the infrastructure package. While there was no direct funding to this futuristic form of transportation, it has been recently opened to Federal funding and programs that other forms of transportation can already access.

Testing continues at the company’s test track in France and the Cleveland project remains on track, Miller said, to possibly be the first of the Hyperloop projects in the country. The hope is to have Hyperloop in Northeast Ohio by the end of the decade.



Japan's Nintendo Fans Test Switch 2 ahead of Launch amid Tariff Worries

An attendee plays Mario Kart World by Nintendo Switch 2 during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London, Britain, April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
An attendee plays Mario Kart World by Nintendo Switch 2 during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London, Britain, April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
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Japan's Nintendo Fans Test Switch 2 ahead of Launch amid Tariff Worries

An attendee plays Mario Kart World by Nintendo Switch 2 during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London, Britain, April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
An attendee plays Mario Kart World by Nintendo Switch 2 during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London, Britain, April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Nintendo fans were given a chance to try out the company's new Switch 2 gaming device at an event near Tokyo on Saturday, ahead of a release that some worry could be overshadowed by tariffs driving up prices.
"Since Mr. Trump became president tariffs have gone up so I am concerned about a price hike not just for the game console but for accessories too," said Hidenori Tanaka, 55, a real estate company employee, who attended the event.
Consumers around the world could face higher prices for electronic devices as tariffs imposed by the US President Donald Trump's administration on trading partners including China raise costs for companies operating global supply chains. While Trump has rolled back some tariffs, the threat of a damaging trade war still looms, Reuters said.
Gamers at the pre-launch event began lining up outside the Makuhari Messe convention center near Tokyo from mid-morning to play Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bonanza, and other titles on the Switch 2.
Despite the possibility of higher prices, there are early indicators of robust consumer demand for the successor to the Switch, which has sold more than 150 million units since 2017 and transformed Nintendo's fortunes.
The Kyoto-based gaming company said on Wednesday it had received 2.2 million applications in the lottery for Switch 2 in Japan and could not fulfil all the demand.
"Honestly, I didn't think I had a shot. Everyone on social media was saying they missed out, so I figured I would too," said Hyuma Hashiguchi, 28, who won the lottery to be among the first to buy the Switch 2.
Nintendo is holding hands-on events around the world including in New York, Berlin and Hong Kong.
The Switch 2 will sell for 49,980 yen ($350) for a Japanese-language-only version. In the United States, Nintendo initially paused pre-orders due to tariff concerns but later said it would maintain pricing at $449.99.