[orev]

The thing about the future is that it hasn’t happened yet, so we need to predict based on history. 1) Things that start in high-end luxury items eventually trickle down to the base models. 2) Always on mobile connectivity is getting cheaper and better. 3) It’s obvious to everyone that every companies goal is now to get all users on the hook for a recurring subscription.

It really doesn’t take a genius to see how all those things will come together on the near future. A subscription to heated seats is merely an example of where things are clearly headed.

[massysett]

Why is that horrible?

The logical endpoint is that my car just charges me per use for what I use. No money down, no repair cost, no buying a new one. Just like flying: I buy a ticket, I’m done. I’m not maintaining a 737.

Some might prefer that, and at any rate it’s not an example of OMG the world is going straight to hell.

[tremon]

Why should your car charge you in the first place? The fact that your "possessions" can drain your bank account already seems pretty dystopian to me.

It's ok if you don't want to own a car, and just want to drive it. Just stop calling it "your car" then.

[namose]

I think COL and housing costs show why rental markets are not good in the long run. The world will increasingly belong to a handful of speculators who can rule the poor into indentured servitude by owning necessities of life.

[iamdamian]

In a world where you don't own things but can only rent them (and potentially where there is limited competition due to natural consolidation), you may be taken advantage of via high margins that result from an imbalance of power or information between you and the companies you rent from. What starts off as a great deal may quickly become untenable if they raise prices.

Laissez-faire capitalists will tell you that the solution to this is perfect competition. I'll observe, though, that perfect competition doesn't seem to have thrived in many industries. I'd guess that one cause is that no one (particularly investors) wants a business with razor-thin margins.

If you don't believe that consolidation will lead to fewer options and an imbalance of power in more industries, look at the history of today's monopolies. Look also at the advice that investors like Peter Thiel give to startups in books like Zero to One.