The article claims "Silicon Valley, with all its wealth, intellectual resources, creative thinkers, and alleged determination to change the world for the better

The article claims "Silicon Valley, with all its wealth, intellectual resources, creative thinkers, and alleged determination to change the world for the better, has to lead the charge on all these fronts". So far, most of the innovations in transport, be it high speed railroads, autobahns or moon missions, have all been done by government. That's simply because it's very hard to build a viable commercial model around infrastructure projects, especially if you expect to see a return within 50 years. If someone does find a way that would be great, of course, and in that case there's a good chance this person would from Silicon Valley.