Just days before Elon Musk plans on opening the doors of Tesla’s Gigafactory 1, Hyperloop One has announced plans for an all-new manufacturing plant of its own. The lawsuit includes a number of potentially damning allegations against the company and its leadership, and it was followed by a countersuit from the current management with equally aggressive claims.
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Known as Hyperloop One Metalworks, the 105,000 sq ft (9,755 sq m) tooling and fabrication plant is located in North Las Vegas, not far from the company’s existing test track. The company plans to create a fully operational hyperloop system by 2020. The company, which calls the plant Hyperloop One Metalworks, expects to use it for testing and producing some parts for its prototype. “Our 170 employees are laser-focused on making Hyperloop the next mode of transportation, and the opening of Hyperloop One Metalworks is the next large step towards that goal”.
According to the company, the facility will house engineers, machinists and welders. Employees will work to design and build supporting columns, cradles and the joints that keep everything held tightly together.
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The project, if successful, promises a half-hour travel time between Stockholm and Helsinki, which is the equivalent of about 300 miles. The plant’s in-house Transponics® test lab will continue the company’s efforts to develop the propulsion system that will launch the Hyperloop One at its incredible predicted speeds. The decision to build the facility comes as Hyperloop One prepares to conduct a demonstration of its transportation platform at the Apex Industrial Park by early next year. Co-founder Kevin “Brogan BamBrogan” Brogan has sued the firm, citing harassment and a potential death threat from the brother of co-founder Shervin Pishevar. Although, as co-founder, you’d think he already had control of the company, wouldn’t you? The region has also been able to get an investment from Faraday Future, which will construct its electric supercar factory here.
