They do touch on it in the article. Permits/regulations added to NIMBYs and pre-existing ageing infrastructure conspire to slow things down.
Not to mention political point scoring over large job creation projects. With the rise of robot workers factories such as these might find themselves unwelcome in previously accommodating areas where their size, logistic needs and impact on the surrounding infrastructure were previously offset by job creation.
So at this sort of scale it's as much a question of logistics and impact to the surrounding area as it is one of pure engineering.
Everything you said it's obviously true. I think that's what made China attractive in the first place. Now though there also are massive Dubey effects. You want to be close to your supplies and those are in China and as I hear often just down the road. That's what we have lost and what's really hard to get back.
It's also that the mindshare of the elite in America was in software and computers until very, very recently where it's branched out to green energy, rockets, and next gen automotives. And we have Musk to thank for at least two out of the three of those.
I also think the natural independent streak running through America (and Canada / Israel / UK / AUS to a lesser extent) draws more of us to software because you don't need to reach consensus to get things done.
Not to mention political point scoring over large job creation projects. With the rise of robot workers factories such as these might find themselves unwelcome in previously accommodating areas where their size, logistic needs and impact on the surrounding infrastructure were previously offset by job creation.
So at this sort of scale it's as much a question of logistics and impact to the surrounding area as it is one of pure engineering.