I like to think (hope?) that when a world changing idea comes along (and if this does work as described, it definitely is world changing), everyone can work together and implement it in a reasonable time frame. I think one of the reasons many projects take so long to complete, like the California HSR, is because the cost to benefit isn't all that great. It has no advantage over flying and little to no advantage over driving.
When a world changing idea comes along, there are always parties that stand to lose from it (1). If those parties are good capitalists, they will oppose the change. That is what stops many good ideas in their tracks.
(1) yes, a change could be an absolute net win for everybody, but it cannot be a relative win for everybody. In many cases, people will prefer to have less, as long as 'the others' have even less.
