June 8, 2026
Tokens out, tempers up
Is This the Dawn of the Tokenpocalypse?
GitHub’s cheap AI era may be over — and commenters are already yelling at the boss class
TLDR: Microsoft is changing GitHub Copilot pricing, a sign that AI tools may stop feeling cheap as companies push more costs onto customers. Commenters are split between mocking clueless executives, warning AI may never be the bargain promised, and enjoying the chaos now that the hype is meeting reality.
Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot just dropped the kind of pricing news that makes office group chats light up: instead of one simple flat fee, some usage will cost more based on how much you use. On the latest TechCrunch Equity chat, the big question was whether this is the start of a wider AI price squeeze as companies behind these tools try to prove they can actually make money. Translation for normal humans: the “magic robot helper” phase may be ending, and the bill is arriving.
But the real fireworks were in the community reaction. One commenter shared that their new CEO basically told employees to “use AI or become unemployable,” and the replies treated that like a red flag parade. Another crowd favorite was the theory that maybe advanced AI just isn’t actually cheaper than paying humans, which is not exactly the future-of-work fantasy investors were pitching. Others accused AI companies of already “enshitifying” consumer plans — internet slang for making a once-good product worse once people are hooked.
And then came the meme energy: “tokenmaxxxing” has apparently gone from hot trend to cautionary tale in months, while one commenter joked about a bizarre future where super-powerful AI arrives but investors still lose their shirts because open-source alternatives are “good enough.” The vibe is a mix of panic, schadenfreude, and “wow, maybe the spreadsheet people should have thought this through first.”
Key Points
- •Microsoft announced major pricing changes for GitHub Copilot, including token-based charging in place of or alongside flat-rate pricing.
- •TechCrunch’s Equity podcast discussed the changes as a sign that AI products may become more expensive and more restricted as companies seek to control costs.
- •The hosts said many AI offerings have been heavily subsidized by investor money, masking their true operating costs.
- •Sean O’Kane cited Uber as an example of a company that quickly shifted from aggressive AI use to budget caps and internal usage limits.
- •Kirsten Korosec said rapid changes in AI pricing, business models, and regulation are making risk assessment increasingly difficult, especially ahead of possible AI company IPOs.