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Richard Branson Steps Down As Chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One (reuters.com)
Richard Branson is stepping down as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One -- "the company that plans to build a supersonic transport system in the United Arab Emirates and other countries," reports Reuters. The reason is because the company needs a more actively involved leader. From the report: The Financial Times reported last week that Saudi Arabia had terminated a planned deal with Virgin Hyperloop One after Branson halted investment talks with Riyadh over the Jamal Khashoggi affair. "At this stage in the company's evolution, I feel it needs a more hands-on Chair, who can focus on the business and these opportunities," the statement quoted Branson as saying. "It will be difficult for me to fulfill that commitment as I already devote significant time to my philanthropic ventures and the many business within the Virgin Group."
They are dangerous. Everyone should fear old people.
Imagine how much the Saudi's would pay for a hyperloop that shipped body parts from embassies all over the world back to Saudi Arabia for proper untraceable disposal! No more embarrassing sewer tell-tales.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Bring him in, Branson is unproven while Elon has many successes to point to. He is exactly the leader needed for such an important and ambitious project.
Damn. Is this really the shit-flinging insane asylum slashdot.org has become? Makes me sorry I stopped by. You should really seek some help, duder.
richard branson is an irrelevant bore.
he made some money some time ago through conventional means in some noncompetitive market. good for him.
now he is wasting it, to his his credit slowly, in order to pass himself as some sort of innovator and edgy personality. he try to act and dress he part too. boring!
Do you mean the toy one that is used in the Hyped-up Pod competition? That's just a toy.
Branson realizes it's not worth his time and probably wants to distance himself from Musk.
See subject.
"The reason is because the company needs a more actively involved leader." translates to:"The venture is going down in flames, and I want to be as far from the splash zone as I can get."
If Saudis can go to another country and dissect a journalist alive, and the consequences are ZERO, then Saudi Arabia isn't a country of laws, and any agreement you think you have with them is unenforceable. Because they can do whatever they like.
Your contract is worth jack shit, your life is worth jack shit, the life of your staff is worth jack shit. Branson knows this, he cancelled his Saudi deals because he's not an idiot.
All of these executives cancelling their trips to Saudi Arabia, are totally aware they cannot push for enforcement of any contract, they cannot ensure any business dealings because Prince Bone Saw is a WhatsApp friend of Jareds, and he can kill them, tear up their contracts, do anything he wants, and there will be zero consequences.
The audio from the Embassy has the Consulate head saying , "do this outside, I'll get into trouble" as they were cutting up the screaming Khashoggi. The men turned to him and said "if he wanted to live when he returns to Saudi Arabia, he'd better shut up". The head of a Consulate must comply with the brutal murder of a man in front of him, simply in order to ensure he himself doesn't get the same treatment. How safe do you now feel even visiting a Saudi Embassy for any paperwork knowing the man issuing the paperwork must help with a murder if asked to?
It all comes down to Jared's 'friend' and how big a defense contract it is. It's a matter of PRICE not laws.
You think a US Senator, a Republican, a Fox News executive are somehow special? Are somehow safe. That the laws protect them and not others? Yet a very high profile Washington Post journalist isn't safe? Can I remind you, it is a VERY BIG arms deal.
Branson is nothing but a marketing front end to a venture capital company. He has a record of leaping on Bandowagons and exploiting new companies eager for cash investment. He rarely finances everything in a way which carries the risk and has been known pull out early leaving everyone else to carry the can. It's a little known fact Branson actually has very little to do with the business apart of the operation and has used a very low profile COO to manage the business for years. The books he has put his name to were ghost written.
Branson is well known for selling the aspirational lifestyle to people with more money than sense and paying staff as little as he can get away with with.
Ifit wasn't for the different business and social environment in the UK Branson would be another Trump.
Right, Elon who likes to speak 'freely', often attack speech, words said for effect rather than veracity. Is supposed to build a hyperloop which may or may not work, in a country where loss of face gets you strung up and slaughtered.
He's supposed to visit the consulates of the countries to get his paperwork, meet and smooze Prince Bone Saw, modify his speech to say only what pleases Prince Bone Saw, never never upset prince bone saw, take the risk of all the work to build the hyperloop, and know that if he displeases his boss, gets into disagreements etc. he can end up murdered brutality and his snuff video shared among his enemies on a WhatsApp group.
Why exactly would he do that?
Why exactly would he let his employees share that same risk?
Glad that someone finally realized that the Hyperloop is just hype and nothing more.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
You left out the thing that the Saudi owns.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Yes. Yes it is.
"What is the difference between a Ponzi Scheme and an Investment Bank?" -- Jon Stewart
Who will head up this scam after both Elon Musk and Branson have already cashed out?
Also:
The ring came off my pudding can!
You must be new here.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
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The next steps in distancing Branson from this:
1). Change the name. Make up a cover story, doesn't matter what the content is. "We are renaming Virgin Hyperloop to Banana Hyperloops, because everyone knows that Banana's identify with hyperloops and virgins don't. It just makes sense!"
2). Spawn off the renamed entity, thereby conceptually disentangling the Virgin Group from the Hyperloop entity. "Today we have exciting news. Banana Hyperloops is going to become a pure play company, enabling investors to gain maximum exposure to the hyperloopified transportation sector!" Virgin retains controlling interest at this point;
3). Virgin steps back and announces that they intend upon becoming a silent investor, uninvolved in any operational decisions or control;
4). Virgin starts selling stock and eventually has none. "We sold off our final holding, which was less than 0.000000001% of Virgin's total assets. It was no longer core to our business and could not substantially contribute to Virgin's financial picture."
5). Banana Hyperloops declares bankruptcy. Virgin Group is contacted for a comment but tactfully declines, saying "Virgin Group remains committed to the exciting brand opportunities of Virgin. We are laser focused on our shareholders and adding value to our products."
6). Sir Richard Branson writes his autobiography. Relevant quote, "Really dodged a bullet on Virgin Hyperloop, but it was the 201x's, Elon Musk was exciting, SpaceX, Tesla, etc. What was I smoking? Underground vacuum tubes thousands of miles long?! Best decision I ever made was getting out from under that mess!"