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Re:Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/mont... by palata on Friday January 23, 2026 @03:54PM (#46737776)
> Every person I know wants a subscription, too.

You mean consumer? I genuinely cannot understand why anyone would buy a car or a bed or a fridge that requires a subscription. That's beyond me.

I do understand why companies want to screw consumers, obviously.

Re:Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/mont... by lotsofpulp on Friday January 23, 2026 @04:24PM (#46738127)
I meant everyone wants to have a recurring income. After all, we have a recurring need to feed and house ourselves.
Re:Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/mont... by palata on Friday January 23, 2026 @04:53PM (#46738453)
Sure, but when you buy a spoon, you expect to own the spoon. You don't pay 1$/month/spoon, do you?
Re:Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/mont... by lotsofpulp on Friday January 23, 2026 @05:58PM (#46739155)
That is neither here nor there. I was making a tongue in cheek comment that companies wanting recurring revenue is not notable, because everyone wants recurring revenue. The only thing limiting it before was lack of technical ability.
Re:Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/mont... by rlpb on Friday January 23, 2026 @05:37PM (#46738947)
> I genuinely cannot understand why anyone would buy a car or a bed or a fridge that requires a subscription.

There's a huge car finance market where people do exactly that. How much they pay a finance company monthly vs. how much they pay the manufacturer monthly makes little difference to them. It's all about the monthly fee and what they get in return for it.

Re:Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/mont... by Marsymars on Friday January 23, 2026 @05:41PM (#46738982)
> You mean consumer? I genuinely cannot understand why anyone would buy a car or a bed or a fridge that requires a subscription. That's beyond me.

If I'm buying something that has recurring costs to deliver services, I feel better if I'm covering those costs, so I'm buying something with a sustainable business model.

Subscription service for heated seats - outrageous.

Subscription service for premium, ad-free mapping - reasonable.