Hyperloop One, the once promising transportation startup that claimed it would whisk passengers through nearly airless tubes at airline speeds, is closing its doors for good.

According to Bloomberg, the company is currently in the process of selling off assets, closing offices, and laying off employees, with plans to formally cease operations by the end of 2023. At that point, all intellectual property will transfer to Dubai port operator DP World, Hyperloop One’s majority stakeholder.

It marks a dramatic fall for a company that captured headlines and investments with its visionary idea for a “fifth mode of transportation.” Since its founding in 2014, Hyperloop One raised over $450 million in funding. But after nearly a decade of development, the hyperloop concept has failed to become a reality.

The dream began in 2013 with a white paper by Elon Musk, who theorized that aerodynamic passenger capsules could zip through nearly airless tubes at up to 760 mph. These elevated or underground tubes could be built between cities, allowing for half-hour trips between major metros.

The idea electrified engineers and investors, spawning new startups seeking to develop the still unproven technology. Hyperloop One launched with millions in early backing and an ambitious vision of global hyperloop networks.

But the company was plagued by setbacks, including founder lawsuits over sabotage claims and sexual misconduct allegations that ousted an early investor. It blew through cash while struggling to validate its hyperloop concept. Despite Richard Branson‘s investment and a rebrand to Virgin Hyperloop One, the company floundered.

The pandemic saw an executive exodus and a pivot to freight over unrealized passenger transport dreams. A $172 million funding round in 2019 kept operations going, but Hyperloop One never delivered on its promises.

A test track saw a pod reach just 100 mph in 2020 — a far cry from the envisioned 760 mph future. Critics dismissed the technology as unrealistic and financially unviable. Deadlines to see working hyperloops by 2020 and then 2021 were missed.

Today, no full-scale hyperloops exist. Musk has moved on to other ventures and tunneling efforts look more like roads than hyperloops. As Hyperloop One turns off the lights, the hyperloop remains an unfilled vision of what the future could have been. For now, the present looks much like the past.