Technology

Virgin Hyperloop One loses $1.5b investment: report

Saudi Arabia has pulled its US$1 billion (NZ$1.5b) investment in Virgin Hyperloop One in response to the company joining droves of others who pulled out of the Kingdom’s Future Investment Initiative – colloquially known as ‘‘Davos in the Desert’’ – after the disappearance and possible murder of a naturalised US citizen and journalist, the Financial Times has reported. Virgin Hyperloop One, which is one iteration of Elon Musk’s visionary Hyperloop transportation project and is chaired by Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, unveiled its first pod prototype earlier this year. Saudi Arabia is one one of its most important backers. A Hyperloop One spokesperson said the company ‘‘did not have a contract signed nor have we been notified that the contract is cancelled’’, adding that they had asked the newspaper to publish a correction. There has been no such correction. –BusinessInsider.com.au