We already have trains and roads, if you're proposing another massive infrastructure investment where the consequences of underinvestment include 'people get hi

We already have trains and roads, if you're proposing another massive infrastructure investment where the consequences of underinvestment include 'people get hit by self-driving cars due to outdated map data', the bar you have to hit there is a lot higher than 'here's my idea for this locomotive, we build some rails in empty grassland and it'll take you somewhere 10 times faster than before'. It's not comparable. Self-driving is about convenience and PERHAPS scale, it's not presently enabling entirely new scenarios. And if the car is super expensive (as he points out, and as it currently is), it leads to a situation where the self-driving cars are owned by central powers instead of individual civilians, so now the cost equation for driving is different and you're giving up control over your own vehicle. They were talking about releasing waymo cars with no steering wheel!