Details about the announcement are still sparse, but last week Alan James, the company’s vice president of world business development, said at a UK tech event that the news will have something to do with a passenger Hyperloop system.
The company also posted a teaser video Sunday that shows a Hyperloop system connecting different cities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Nov 8 is more than election day: follow as we live tweet a BIG moment in transportation history @BIGstertweets @BjarkeIngels #Hyperloopone pic.twitter.com/1oYuyIr6pP
— HyperloopOne (@HyperloopOne) November 5, 2016
According to the video, the Hyperloop network would enable people to travel from Dubai to Dhabi, which is typically a two-hour drive, in 12 minutes, or from Dubai to Riyadh, which is about a nine-hour drive, in just 48 minutes.
The Hyperloop, of course, is a futuristic transport system that could carry passengers or cargo in capsules at speeds that exceed 500 miles per hour. Musk first proposed the idea back in 2013 and made his research public so others could pursue developing the concept.
Hyperloop One, which was co-founded by venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar in 2014, has always said that it aims to eventually build a system that is safe enough for human passengers, but the company has recently been focusing most of its efforts on how the Hyperloop might be used to better transport cargo.
In mid-October, the start-up announced it had secured $50 million in a funding round led by DP World, which is the third largest port and terminal operator in the world. As part of the deal, Hyperloop One and DP World are conducting a feasibility study to see how Hyperloop technology can improve transporting cargo to DP World’s Jebel Ali port.
Peter Diamandis, a Hyperloop One board member and CEO of the X-Prize Foundation, also told Business Insider in August that the company has had discussions with several port authorities about using a Hyperloop system to ship cargo containers to various inland ports.
Hyperloop One has been busy forming new partnerships with cities and companies in its effort to make the futuristic transportation system a reality.
In June, Hyperloop One announced a partnership with the City of Moscow and a local company called Summa Group to explore bringing the Hyperloop to Russia.
Hyperloop One is pressing ahead in its development of the Hyperloop despite an explosive lawsuit that was brought against the company in July by former employees, including one of the company’s co-founders, Brogan BamBrogan.
BamBrogan, who was also the chief technology officer, accused Pishevar, co-founder and executive chairman, of breaching his fiduciary duty as well as mismanagement of funds.
According to the lawsuit, defendant Afshin Pishevar, who is the company’s chief legal counsel, allegedly placed a hangman’s noose on BamBrogan’s chair after BamBrogan and 10 other employees voiced their concerns to top executives.
The lawsuit includes a picture allegedly taken from a security camera showing Afshin carrying the noose.
Hyperloop One, though, fired back, filing a counter lawsuit of its own accusing BamBrogan and the other employees of manufacturing a rebellion “in a transparent attempt to seize control of the company.”
This article was originally published on Business Insider. Copyright 2016.
