Google already has a huge amount of power over where people go on the Internet. It seems having power, however indirect, of where people go in the real world is their next goal, and it is quite deeply unsettling to consider. Imagine self-driving cars that will be cheaper but take you to "sponsored places" before going to your destination, refuse certain destinations "for your safety", and play ads continuously while you're helplessly transported around.

Given that amount of power they will have if they succeed, spending $1B on the (very real) possibility of getting to that situation is definitely expected. And very very scary for everyone else.