This is because large corporations must provide infinite growth to their investors, or a good number of them will dump the stock and raising investment might become very hard.
For the sake of infinite growth, many lines have been crossed and many decisions that make no sense if not looked through the lens of money have been made.
I think companies will start doing truly unethical things in the pursuit of this in the future. What if the dashboard could show ads before the car starts? It’s just a second of your time. What if a gas station network like Circle K could sponsor your car so it tells you to get a specific type of gasoline? Why not subscription for “optional” safety features that were standard? Why not a way to remotely disable cars with a warning light on the dash “for your own safety” until they visit a certified dealer? Why not coded car parts so the customer gets a “genuine product” and doesn’t “accidentally” install a cheaper generic counterpart? Why not pay as you go features instead of paying upfront? Why not track places you drive to with your car, the conversations you have in it, the people you call, and whether you drive with your wife and/or kids for behavioural advertising elsewhere? What about an eco mode subscription that saves you money when compared to not buying it, despite that it is always free with cars today?
Maybe we could also disable some people’s cars to align with certain political demographics and identities, like we cancel, deplatform, and get people fired for slights online now? Could that paint us in a positive light in certain demographics? One client lost for a thousand gained!
Maybe an auto-911 crash detection subscription? You wouldn’t want to be the mother whose kid dies in a car crash so you’d save $19.99 a month, would you? Anything if it moves more cars or at a higher marginal revenue, right?
And let’s not forget marginal costs - what could be cheaper? Maybe some parts are too durable. A lot of things could be digital - break lines, steering, the accelerator, door locks, seat belt mechanisms, mirrors and so on. And we could save doubly by outsourcing all this work to the cheapest bidder, whether they specialize in automotive safety or web design.
Anything for the sake of growth. And it’s coming. Sooner or later, there won’t be a company in the auto industry providing appealing returns unless they charge their users more, exploit them more, or save up for a nicer dividend by cutting some corners. Not today, not this year, maybe not in the immediate future. But this is the natural conclusion of the flavor of capitalism we do.
I don’t blame capitalism for everything. It’s good for a lot of things. But it totally fails humanity when large corporations are involved. We should change it before a bunch of our industries collapse under their self-destructive behaviors driven by greed. Because right now, a good investment strategy is to constantly keep investing in companies who irreparably harm themselves and their customers long-term for a quick buck. You just need to build your portfolio of these and dump them once their sell-out is over. And this makes money. An investor would be unwise not to pick a money-making strategy.
It is in everyone’s best capitalistic interest to exploit others to the max. And when all that could be exploited is, well… no one managing companies thinks about this. The investors want returns now, all the time. The executives know how to sell-out for this and golden-parachute into the next company to do it all again. The employees are laid off and customers are mistreated, but hey - capitalism is to acquire capital. It’s not called moralism.