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Valley Tales. Virgin Hyperloop One’s dream of revolutionizing transportation has been derailed by internal strife and legal troubles. The company, with total funding of $472M from Caspian VC Partners, China Investment Corporation, and Kaspar Ventures, aimed to transport passengers in magnetically levitated pods through low-pressure tubes at speeds of up to 760 mph. This futuristic concept, inspired by Elon Musk and akin to Japan's maglev trains, faced serious setbacks. In 2016, ex-CTO Brogan BamBrogan and three former employees sued Hyperloop for labor law violations and breaches of fiduciary duty, alongside personal claims of defamation and assault. Hyperloop countersued, accusing them of a coup attempt. Further damaging the company’s reputation, cofounder Shervin Pishevar faced sexual misconduct allegations in 2017, and board member Ziyavudin Magomedov was arrested in 2018 for fraud and embezzlement. These scandals have cast a long shadow over Hyperloop’s once-promising vision.