The SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition was an international student engineering challenge launched by SpaceX to advance the concept of ultra‑high‑speed ground transport. University and some advanced high school teams designed and built small-scale pods to travel inside a vacuum tube at SpaceX’s Hyperloop test track in Hawthorne, California. Pods were judged primarily on maximum speed and successful deceleration, with additional focus on safety, innovation, and engineering design. Formally, the competition was targeted at university-level teams, but highly motivated high school students sometimes participated by collaborating with or joining university teams, usually under faculty or mentor supervision. Benefits included hands‑on experience in mechanical, electrical, and software engineering; exposure to real-world systems engineering and testing; and networking with industry professionals. **Note:** SpaceX officially concluded the Hyperloop Pod Competition after the 2019–2020 cycles, so there is currently no active high school track; interested high school students now typically engage through related university teams or similar student engineering competitions inspired by the original event.