On May 11, 2016, Hyperloop One made its first public demonstration of a custom-made propulsion system. The Propulsion Open Air Test (POAT) was conducted at the company's test site in North Las Vegas. 

During the propulsion test of a hyperloop system, the "Sandshark" test sled accelerated to 187 km/h in 1.1 seconds along a 457 meters long, custom-built test track. The ride took mere two seconds, after that the sled was stopped by a sand barrier. Representatives say this test was shown to the public in order to prove that "Hyperloop is coming and it's coming very soon."

Next to releasing the highly promising test footage, Hyperloop One also announced that the company gained some fresh capital ($80 million in venture capital financing) as well as created a series of new partnerships, including Deutsche Bahn Engineering & Consulting.

Reportedly, the next phase of the program sees building a fully-integrated Hyperloop system at the test facility by the end of the year. Once completed and ready, the magnetic drive is expected to accelerate the pod to over 1,126 km/h.

Hyperloop, the young company with a big dream, will surely need to overcome numerous obstacles before its innovative system is able to safely (and legally) carry the first passengers, but that does not mean they won't be able to introduce their fully-operating supersonic pods in five years' time, as planned.