Funny you consider it clueless and elitist considering I lived myself without a car for an extended period of time in my adult life, and the fact I was too poor was the primary reason.
Spending $500 a month or more for car payments, insurance, maintenance, etc. is not something a "poor" person can afford.
Or alternatively driving around in 15 or 20 year old cars that can't pass inspection, or will inevitably strand you when it breaks down is not a recipe for success.
Or one can choose to forsake owning a car, choose a location to live served well by mass transit, and which has stores and services that are nearby so you can actually walk somewhere.
These places already exist in most cities of any size, including Austin. Are there enough of them for everyone? Nope. Are they too expensive typically? Yep. Should anyone be forced to live such a lifestyle? Hell no.
But hopefully the changes to our land use and urban planning which give people a choice will continue and even accelerate over the coming decades.