Virgin Hyperloop has laid off nearly half of its staff.
The high-speed levitating pod hurtles through vacuum tubes and had been transporting passengers, but now the attention is shifting to freight.
A spokesperson told the Financial Times that the decision “really has more to do with global supply chain issues and all the changes due to COVID.”
DP World - which has a 76 per cent stake in Virgin Hyperloop - insisted: “It’s abundantly clear that potential customers are interested in cargo, while passenger is somewhat farther away.
“Focusing on pallets is easier to do — there is less risk for passengers and less of a regulatory process.”
It's also claimed that a route between Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia for cargo is being considered.
Sir Richard Branson stepped down from his role as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, as it was formerly known, in 2018.
The idea of the Hyperloop was first proposed by Tesla's CEO Elon Musk back in 2012.
The concept was explicitly "open-sourced" by Musk and SpaceX, and they encouraged others to develop the idea, however, some technical tweaks were made.
