Hyperloop One cofounder steps down from CTO role

The future of sub-supersonic transportation just took a hit.

Brogan BamBrogan, who launched Hyperloop One (then just Hyperloop) in his garage in 2015 and served as Chief Technology Officer, is stepping down.

"Cofounder and CTO Brogan BamBrogan has decided to take a step back from Hyperloop One. We appreciate everything that he has done to put us on the path to creating the world’s first Hyperloop," said a company spokesperson in an email to Mashable on Friday. BamBrogan will remain with Hyperloop One, though it's not clear in what capacity.

SEE ALSO: Hyperloop One: Where do we go from here?

The surprising news comes a little more than a month after Hyperloop One's first public, and successful, technology demonstration. BamBrogan played a pivotal role in the event, which was held in the Nevada desert. He set the stage and his explanation of what the assembled press was about to see lasted many times longer than the 2-second propulsion system test.

Image: lance ulanoff/mashable

Hyperloop One, which is supposed to represent the future of human travel or, at least, commuting, is just one of a number of companies working on sub-supersonic transportation technologies based on Elon Musk's original hyperloop idea, which he outlined in a massive whitepaper published in 2014. 

The idea is to use tubes and pods inside tubes that run either on a mag-lev or air cushion (either would be zero friction) and use electrical pulses to propel them forward through the tubes. The benefit of sealed tubes is that they they'd protect the pods, which would be traveling well over 700 miles per hour, from the elements. The other company working on a full-scale hyperloop system is called Hyperloop Transportation Technologies or HTT. It has yet to perform a public test.

The departure of a founder, who some might call a tech visionary, could impact Hyperloop One's aggressive timeline: delivering a working Hyperloop One working freight system by 2019 and a human transport line by 2021.

Stepping into BamBrogan's shoes, however, is SVP of Engineering Josh Giegel, who also happens to be Hyperloop One's very first employee. 

Image: lance ulanoff/mashable

Few if any in the company know more about the technology behind hyperloop. Giegel spoke to me in May, just hours before Hyperloop One's first successful test, explaining in detail the technology behind the test and what success would mean. "If this works the way we predicted it does, then we take this design and move it inside the tube later this year,” he said.

A company spokesperson sent this statement on Giegel's appointment:

After the successful Hyperloop One test in May, BamBrogan said, "This is the first step in a long journey." It's just no longer clear if Brogan BamBrogan will be joining them on that ride.