Tesla's Hyperloop pod just set a speed record of 220 mph

SpaceX recently held a Hyperloop competition for students across the globe, but the company has since used the occasion to puts its own system to the test.

A Hyperloop is a nascent transportation system that pushes pods through a vacuum-sealed tube with the ultimate goal of one day transporting people between cities at speeds up to 700 mph. SpaceX first challenged students in 2015 to design and build a Hyperloop pod, and we got to see the results of their efforts on Sunday at SpaceX's competition.

SpaceX and Tesla designed a "pusher pod" to help some students get their pods going. A few days ago, SpaceX and Tesla decided to see how their own pusher pod performed. It hit a top speed of 220 mph, the fastest recorded time to-date.

WARR Hyperloop, the student-run team that won SpaceX's competition, hit 201 mph on the same track. The track is only 1.25 kilometers long, so both pods could feasibly reach higher speeds with a longer runway.

Hyperloop One, a startup that's pursuing the system for commercial use, reached a top speed of 192 mph in August on its 500-meter test track in Nevada. 

Musk has said he wants to build a commercial Hyperloop through his newest venture, The Boring Company, which plans to build the system between New York and Washington DC.

NOW WATCH: Elon Musk says he got government approval for an underground Hyperloop - here's the footage of the first major Hyperloop test