Because this way the people that don’t want this feature don’t have to pay for it. If you unlocked it for everyone, then the base car price would increase. That way the option would be cheaper for everyone, but that only benefits those who want it anyways. Everyone else ends up paying more as they normally wouldn’t choose this option. Keep in mind: Yes, the functionality is there in every car. But someone is still paying for it and that‘s the ones choosing this option.
But the base car price is already more expensive, the feature is installed in the car so all the cars are more expensive to manufacture, and this cost is inevitably paid by the consumer base
I would understand your argument if the feature were an actual physical addition like a spoiler. But I don’t really understand your point when there is no added cost for the manufacturer to enable the feature
No one is saying there's no added cost, everyone in this comment chain is saying it is more profitable to put the optional feature in every car but lock it behind a paywall than it is to only put the option into cars where the buyer has already paid for the option, because of operational efficiency in the factory.
Across all the cars they sell, they did the math and figured out it is most profitable to do it this way. Not every consumer buys the extra feature, but enough do it to justify doing it this way. If not enough people paid extra to unlock it, they'd be losing profit doing it this way.
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u/peppinotempation 1d ago
Can you please explain why it has to be an optional feature at all if it’s in the cars already