Other countries need to use trains for bulk like the US does.
Rail is just a lot more complex to plan for. You still need trucks for last-mile transport, so for the typical short haul it sometimes makes more sense to just drive to the destination directly. Then transporting by train just takes longer which isn't always acceptable. Sometimes you just need things there today/tomorrow.
It's all about economics. Whatever's cheaper wins. To that end, Tesla has mentioned in their presentations that a Tesla Semi convoy of only 3 trucks can be cheaper than a train for the same load.
> To that end, Tesla has mentioned in their presentations that a Tesla Semi convoy of only 3 trucks can be cheaper than a train for the same load.
I can carry it on my magic carpet for even cheaper, trust me I am rich so I wouldn't lie... this time.
Trains have replaceable engines, power-lines - no battery. Trucks will not be cheaper option no matter what mumbo jumbo techno jargon you throw at it. And decades of technological optimizations. And they dont need lithium to be made and maintained.
The problem is that highways are literally not cheaper but massively subsidized and heavy trucks are destroying that public infrastructure because they are so heavy.
So just saying its all economics when the underlying rules of the game are totally unequal is not that useful.
Sorry I should have been more specific. I'm referring to economics from the viewpoint of the business operating a fleet. Given almost all business do not hold back from whatever incentive and subsidies are available to them, it's fairly reasonable boundary to confine the comparison to.
