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MSCHF is at it again, with KEY4ALL
We have rebuilt the entirety of ZipCar with a fleet of one single vehicle, but rather than a study in shared resource management, Key4All has been engineered to be Grand Theft Auto: Tragedy Of The Commons.
Key4All exists somewhere between the delight of communal ownership and the teeth-grinding capitalist competition of Hands on a Hard Body.
The car is transient and un-ownable, a journey and temporary blessing. It is a contest without the security of victory. If you find the car, it is yours. But if you want to enjoy the fruits of your victory and drive, then you must accept the risk of taking the car out in the world—that another driver-errant may snatch the vehicle out from under you.
Bless the ridiculous art-weirdos at MSCHF -- they who previously gave us such things as Lil Nas X's Satan Shoes, the AllTheStreams Illegal Streaming Service, and Dead Startup Toys, among other delights -- this might be one of their most clever works yet.
For those wanting an easy breakdown of how this works…
- You go to Key4All.com, and spend $19 for a key fob.
- That key fob, along with all the others sold at Key4All.com unlock the same single individual car.
- If your key fob is near the car, it will glow green, and you can click the key fob to unlock and drive it.
- There’s a hotline you can call to find out where the car may be.
- Anyone else with the key fob can just unlock and use the car at any time — in turn, if you arrive somewhere in the car, you may not leave with it.
In short, as it says on the site: “Thousands of Keys — One Shared Car."
I love it.
Monday September 26, 2022