Of course we'll rent them! I don't even want to keep a robot in my flat all the time.

But that means speed does matter after all. The renting company will need to clean as many flats as possible with a single robot in a single day.

Cars are an absolute necessity in the US unless you live in one of the small handful of cities that have viable public transit. Different thing altogether.

Robots aren't a necessity, and for a price tag in the tens of thousands, most people will just mop their own floors and do their own laundry.

Leasing seems like it could make sense given rapid upgrades in the technology. Why spend $15k on a home robot that will be obsoleted in the next few years?

At that point why not have a human cleaning service it will probably be cheaper

Much easier to remotely brick a robot too I imagine

People are financing small consumer goods with 3 digit price tags because they can't afford their mediocre already leveraged life. They borrow high 4 to low 5 figures for a car because they can't get to work to earn money so they don't have to join the bums sleeping on the cardboard. They will not be borrowing high 5 figures to low 6 figures for Rosie the Robot.

If Rosie was the only output she would never happen. Rosie might happen as a side benefit of replacing American workers but only for the rich people.

The vast majority which may be replaced would probably be better off burning down the factory rather than celebrate their upcoming domestic helper.