I do think that the focus on private vehicles is problematic and probably isn't going to even be practical at first because of the lack of compatibile autonomou

I do think that the focus on private vehicles is problematic and probably isn't going to even be practical at first because of the lack of compatibile autonomous EVs. If you actually look at the Boring Company's proposed system for Chicago you can see that it actually addresses most of the criticisms given here: https://www.boringcompany.com/chicago/ https://www.boringcompany.com/chicago/ There are multi-rider mini bus vehicles that are dedicated to the transportation system. It's effectively a subway / guided bus line (which is already a thing that exists) with autonomy and EV tech applied. You break down the smaller number of large trains into a large number of small vehicles that can depart/arrive more frequently. The smaller pods can pull off into loading areas at stations instead of blocking the main line, and your routing can be more flexible since each car does not have to stop at the same stops and follow the same route. In reality if such a system gets built it will mostly be an evolution on existing tramway / guided busway systems but scaled up a bit with some newer tech applied, and maybe someday the ability for private vehicles to share the same tunnel network and for the bus vehicles to extend out into the normal road network as autonomous road vehicles to get closer to rider sources and destinations. I've noticed that Musk has a tendency to get buried in the weeds of what he considers cool and exciting and sometimes fail to deliver the point (and reality) of what they're actually working on in his presentations.