And obviously there will be some costs to the company, the test didn't develop itself, and there is likely a developer reviewing the code after completion.
In this case the developer is in a different city, the test appears to be designed to see if it is worthwhile to bring him in for further interview.
Developing test beforehand requires no commitment ($0) to particular applicant. There's no commitment.
As for reviewing, I've seen A/B/C/D tests out there. These can be evaluated automatically. So once again, no commitment.
Now, the point is than anyone -- if there's an option -- prefers situation where there's at least some commitment from the other side. Thus, the guys with automated tests are going to hire only developers which have no other choice. It looks like they are shooting themselves in the foot.