It was an attempt to derail California (and other) High Speed Rail.
Why would you build HSR if there’s something way faster/better/cheaper, you just need to wait 5 years? You’re going to look really dumb if you spend tens of billions on infrastructure intended to last more than a century, and then it’s obsolete before it’s complete.
Similar story with Toyota perpetually claiming to have amazing batteries 3-5 years away, making every EV look like an expensive waste with no resale value.
And a hydrogen economy, small nuclear reactors, or fusion power being 5/10/20 years away, removing the need to invest in transmission and generation.
A major paradigm shift being right around the corner makes people choose short-term solutions, because you want to wait for the new thing to arrive before investing in ‘old tech’.
The problem is most of it is lies, perpetuated by those selling the short-term-fix old tech.
It was an attempt to derail California (and other) High Speed Rail.
Why would you build HSR if there’s something way faster/better/cheaper, you just need to wait 5 years? You’re going to look really dumb if you spend tens of billions on infrastructure intended to last more than a century, and then it’s obsolete before it’s complete.
Similar story with Toyota perpetually claiming to have amazing batteries 3-5 years away, making every EV look like an expensive waste with no resale value.
And a hydrogen economy, small nuclear reactors, or fusion power being 5/10/20 years away, removing the need to invest in transmission and generation.
A major paradigm shift being right around the corner makes people choose short-term solutions, because you want to wait for the new thing to arrive before investing in ‘old tech’.
The problem is most of it is lies, perpetuated by those selling the short-term-fix old tech.