Tesla yoke steering (2021): did it need fixing?

2021

Tesla

Before: Tesla Model S and Model X with a round steering wheel.
The fix: Made a rectangular, open-topped 'yoke' the standard steering wheel.
Then: In 2023 Tesla started selling a $700 round-wheel retrofit for yoke owners. It reportedly sold out in about a week.

Half took it back

A round wheel became available again in 2023, as an option and a retrofit.

Your call

More fixes nobody asked for

2023

Unity Technologies

Before: Unity's game engine, priced by subscription seat, with no charge per install.
The fix: Announced a Runtime Fee charging developers per install once a game passed revenue and install thresholds.
Then: Developers revolted and the stock dropped. Unity rolled back parts of it within weeks, and in September 2024 new CEO Matt Bromberg cancelled it outright.

Took it back

Back to seat pricing, with Pro up 8% and Enterprise up 25%.

Your call

2010

Frito-Lay

Before: SunChips in an ordinary plastic chip bag.
The fix: Moved to a 100% compostable bag made from a corn-based plastic.
Then: The bag crinkled at up to 95 decibels. Sales fell about 11%, and a Facebook group called 'Sorry But I Can't Hear You Over This SunChip Bag' took off.

Half took it back

Kept it for Original flavor only; a quieter compostable bag came in 2011.

Your call

2016

HP

Before: HP OfficeJet printers that took cheaper third-party ink cartridges without complaint.
The fix: A firmware update, set to switch on September 13, 2016, made printers reject cartridges without HP chips.
Then: Printers started calling perfectly good cartridges damaged. HP admitted no fault, but paid $1.5 million to settle a US class action and up to $1.35 million to settle in Europe.

Kept it.

HP printers were still blocking non-HP chips in 2023.

Your call