Yeah agreed, but marketing and hyping is how you get people excited and how you get funding. I struggle to imagine how you'd ever remove that from the economic equation. It definitely can have its drawbacks.

Yeah I think your conclusion is pretty likely. Most tools started off inefficient and got more so, because a more efficient tool is more desirable. Broadly speaking.

I dont think its completely impossible that they (the big companies) eek out their existence long enough that their income overcomes their initial outlay. As I say, they arent static, they are still progressing both the software and the hardware. Ramp up their green energy investment, continue progressing the energy efficiency increases per token, consistent supply lines and competition in components and raw materials push prices down. All feasible. None guaranteed, but all feasible.