Elon Musk's vision of a Hyperloop transport system that carries passengers in pressurized tubes at near-supersonic speeds is set to be demonstrated in a public test later today.

The Paypal founder and boss of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, outlined his futuristic idea in 2013 as a way of carrying passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in under 35 minutes.

He challenged innovators to bring the dream to life and Hyperloop One, one of the startups that picked up the gauntlet, is hosting a 'sneak preview of the future of transportation technology'.

It will be showcased in a two-day event billed as involving a demonstration at a test site outside Las Vegas.

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The first demonstration of Elon Musk's Hyperloop technology is to be tested at a site outside of Las Vegas during a two day event by one of two competing LA-based companies attempting to create the 'transport of the future'. A Tesla Motors concept drawing of the Hyperloop is pictured

Hyperloop One said that it raised $80 million in fresh funding from an array of investors, including GE Ventures and France's SNCF.

'The overwhelming response we've had already confirms what we've always known, that Hyperloop One is at the forefront of a movement to solve one of the planet's most pressing problems,' Hyperloop One co-founder Shervin Pishevar said.

Pishevar and Brogan BamBrogan founded Hyperloop One, originally named Hyperloop Technologies, in 2013 to make real Elon Musk's well-researched vision of a lightning-fast transport system with the potential to transform how people live.

A series of tweets fired from the Twitter account @HyperloopTech teased 'big announcements you don't want to miss' and included a video snippet of construction in the desert.

A caption in the video clip heralded a 'milestone event' that would be live-tweeted from Las Vegas beginning at Tuesday 5pm PDT (Wednesday 1am BST).

Late last year, Hyperloop chief executive Rob Lloyd said in an online post that the team was working toward a 'Kitty Hawk' moment in 2016.

WHAT IS THE HYPERLOOP? Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at 745mph (1,200km/h) between distant locations. It was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes - half the time it takes a plane. It is essentially a long tube that has had the air removed to create a vacuum. The tube is suspended off the ground to protect against weather and earthquakes. Passengers would sit in either individual or group pods, which would then be accelerated with magnets. Capsules carrying six to eight people would depart every 30 seconds, with tickets costing around $20 (£13) each way. The cost of building a line from LA to San Francisco has been estimated at $16 billion (£10 billion) - although critics say it would be nearer $100 billion (£65 billion). Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at 745mph (1,200km/h) between distant locations. Advertisement

The post came with word of an agreement to use an industrial park in the city of North Las Vegas to conduct a Propulsion Open Air Test of the blazingly-fast rail system.

Lloyd described it at the time as a very important step on the way to realizing the full potential of Hyperloop Tech.

'Our 'Kitty Hawk' moment refers to our first full system, full scale, full speed test,' Lloyd said.

'This will be over two miles of tube with a controlled environment and inside that tube we will levitate a pod and accelerate it to over 700 miles (1,125 kilometers) per hour.'

He indicated in the post that a full-scale test might not take place until late this year.

Shervin Pishevar, co-founder and Executive Chairman at Hyperloop One, talks about the future of transportation, during a press conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 10, 2016 ©John Gurzinski (AFP)

Hyperloop did not reveal what components of the system would be shown in a demonstration slated to take place Wednesday at the test site.

The Hyperloop project went live in 2013 on crowdfunding platform JumpStart Fund, which marries crowdsourcing expertise with crowdfunding.

That year, Musk unveiled a design for a super-fast transport system dubbed 'Hyperloop' that could carry passengers in low-pressure tubes at near-supersonic speeds.

The project could connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in 35 minutes in a low-cost alternative to a high-speed rail network planned for California.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, unveiled his designs for a super-fast transport system dubbed 'Hyperloop' that could carry passengers in low-pressure tubes at near-supersonic speeds in 2013

Technology for the Hyperloop will be demonstrated by one of the companies attempting to turn the plans into a reality at a track that has been constructed in the desert outside Las Vegas (pictured)

Less than 24 hours now for some major updates! Live-tweeting starts tomorrow @ 5PM PDT https://t.co/l7h8hKofwU #hyperloop — Virgin Hyperloop (@virginhyperloop) May 10, 2016

Musk has said he has no plans to build the system but offered the 'open source design' to allow others to pursue a venture. He's called the system a cross between a 'Concorde, a rail gun and an air hockey table.'

Jon Favreau, director of 'Iron Man,' has referred to Musk as a modern-day 'Renaissance man.'

In an article for Time, Favreau said he and actor Robert Downey Jr. modeled the main character in the movie -- 'genius billionaire Tony Stark' -- after the Silicon Valley star.

Musk told Time that his goal was to be 'involved in things that are going to make a significant difference to the future of humanity.'

South Africa-born Musk has become one of America's best-known innovators, having launched a payments company, electric carmaker Tesla Motors, SpaceX and SolarCity, which makes solar panels for homes and businesses.

The Hyperloop pods will travel inside sealed tubes (pictured) at close to the speed of sound

It's ON! We're 1 day away from some big announcements. Live-tweeting starts tomorrow @ 5PM PDT https://t.co/tASsQqwMyy #hyperloop — Virgin Hyperloop (@virginhyperloop) May 9, 2016

The test comes just two days after another company, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, demonstrated its magnetic levitation technology (concept drawings of its Hyperloop network pictured)

The speed of sound is 767mph, while Hyperloop would travel at 760mph (1,223km/h). Musk had previously suggested a functional Hyperloop system in the US could cost $6 billion (£4 billion), although others suggest the figure will be much higher

Hyperloop Technologies have been building a test track to demonstrate their version of the transport technology just outside Las Vegas (tubing for the test system pictured)

He also operates his own foundation focusing on education, clean energy and children's health.

HYPERLOOP IN EUROPE Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) met with Slovakian government officials last week to finalise and sign an agreement. They are looking to build a local Hyperloop system, with the vision of creating future routes connecting Bratislava with Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary. According to Wired, Mr Ahlborn wants the first stage to be complete by 2020. But the company has not secured funding yet, and the project is expected to cost $200-300 million (£141 – 211 million). Advertisement

Meanwhile, another startup that has picked up the Hyperloop gauntlet announced that its design is incorporating passive magnetic levitation originally conceived by a team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

'Utilizing a passive levitation system will eliminate the need for power stations along the Hyperloop track, which makes this system the most suitable for the application and will keep construction costs low,' Hyperloop Transportation Technologies chief operating officer Bibop Gresta said in a statement.

'From a safety aspect, the system has huge advantages, levitation occurs purely through movement, therefore if any type of power failure occurs, Hyperloop pods would continue to levitate and only after reaching minimal speeds touch the ground.'

After Musk published a white paper describing a futuristic mode of super high-speed rail transit, Hyperloop Transportation 'rose to the challenge,' it said.

Early designs for the Hyperloop (pictured) show pods that can carry up to 16 passengers that levitate with the help of magnets. Elon Musk has said by using the pods in vacuum tubes, the friction and air resistance can be kept to a minimum to allow the pods to move at high speeds with minimal energy