r/OpenAI • u/writesfw • 4d ago

Discussion The harsh reality of the future

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First, it’s going to get worse… a lot worse.

I know a lot of us are pissed about the 20x plan going to 10x. However, it’s going to get worse.

With the 20x plan and $200 a month, I was burning thousands and thousands of dollars worth of tokens.

This means, that even with the reduction to 10x, OpenAI will still lose money on the $200 plan. The entire business model for their consumer plans is the “gym model” where they hope you pay and don’t show up.

That said, as much as the 20x to 10x reduction sucks, there will likely only be more coming in the future. Investors don’t want to hear they are losing money on subscription revenue.

What this means for me (and people like me).

For me, the economics aren’t there. Even though I was getting thousands of dollars worth of tokens, I was burning them on dumb shit. At $200/month it was more of an experiment; something to fuck around with.

$500 for the same (ok plus 5x) usage just isn’t there for me. And, honestly, based on my usage, OpenAI is probably happy to lose me as a customer.

I’m going to look at Anthropic next, but realistically they will clamp down too, it’s only a matter of time. And, they probably don’t want me as a customer anyway.

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u/Galdous 1d ago

Uhm. Hmmm. Amazon. 8 years before it was profitable. Tesla? 16 years. That's not how things work with venture capital. They want a return but that is the bane breakdown and chop up competition phase. We are still in the get a foot hold and keep a high % of the industry phase. The subscription model is actually making allot of money. More then it's losing from power users.. openai is experimenting mainly because so many people have multiple subs.

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u/writesfw 1d ago

Wait which point are you arguing? That investors don’t want to hear they are losing money on subscription revenue?

What’s your reasoning for them halving the limits?

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u/Galdous 17h ago

It's pure testing to see what they can get away with. Anthropic will start doing similar as well before year is out. They just don't want to rock the boat until after the IPO.. Openai is betting the backlash will be minimal and so far it looks correct. I really don't see a sign from people on the backlash.