I agree with that. Tesla experienced that backlash firsthand. Hopefully, things will change with regard to energy and engines.
I think the reason for the difference in software is the existing information infrastructure. The proliferation of open source software is too hard to control.
I think the patent office is the key. If you bypass the patent, you can revolutionize an industry (dealing in hard products), but you won't get rich.
From what I've seen, the open source folks who hoped to revolutionize the software industry were doomed from the start.
One only has to use a topdown planned and organized software systems using strict development guidelines and parameters like that of Microsoft and Apple, then use gaggle developed, anybody-adds-to-it software like Linux to see the problem.
