Driving straight, and at a constant speed is pretty easy, tesla has almost got it down. Driving in weather is harder, but that is still a problem for city cars

Driving straight, and at a constant speed is pretty easy, tesla has almost got it down. Driving in weather is harder, but that is still a problem for city cars, I'm not sure why you think it is more of a problem on the open road. The map data might be more frequently updated, but it is also more complicated. Stop and go traffic (with lane changes!), turns, traffic lights, construction, busses, etc. all add to the complexity of city driving. The first thing for freight isn't going to be completely autonomous, it is going to be a slightly smarter tesla style autopilot, i.e. a driver who is alerted by the computer when he needs to take over (weather, pulling into towns, etc). I honestly have the opposite opinion that you do: freight (ignoring the last mile) is a much easier problem than inner city driving.