Re:Why I think Tesla is building throwaway cars
by tamana on Sunday March 06, 2016 @04:05PM
(#11235535)
As good get more complex, the industry naturally becomes limited tona few less than competitive competitors.
Open design products allow small companies to compete on add-ons like maintenance and repairs, even though they can't offer whole cars.
Re:Why I think Tesla is building throwaway cars
by gwright on Sunday March 06, 2016 @04:42PM
(#11235680)
Examples? What causes the increased complexity? Market demand? Government regulation? What prevents competitors from appearing or for exiting vendors to offer different products at different levels of 'complexity'?
Re:Why I think Tesla is building throwaway cars
by HappyTypist on Sunday March 06, 2016 @05:33PM
(#11235902)
Makes sense. I see it more as lock in.
Re:Why I think Tesla is building throwaway cars
by marssaxman on Sunday March 06, 2016 @06:30PM
(#11236137)
Sure, but lock-in is a means of reducing market competition and thereby enabling rent extraction. Lock-in practices are an example of rent-seeking behavior.
It isn't entirely clear to me if 'rent-seeking' is the appropriate description here though. You aren't being forced into to this type of arrangement and are free to purchase from other vendors. I'd like to see a bit more regulatory capture, government mandates, and so on before it makes sense to me to start talking about 'rent-seeking'.
For example, the byzentine dealership laws in many states and the lobbying by dealers to maintain the status quo via legislation seems more like rent-seeking to me.