Palmer Luckey asks if you'd pay 20% more for a laptop entirely made in the US

[midian182]

A hot potato: Would you pay 20% more for a laptop if it had been made in the US and not manufactured in China? Palmer Luckey, creator of the Oculus Rift and co-founder of military tech firm Anduril, has posed this question as he is considering entering the market – and 63.5% of people say yes, they would pay extra.

During the Reindustrialize Summit in Detroit last week, Luckey posted an X poll asking if people would be willing to buy a Made In America computer from Anduril if it costs 20% more than a Chinese-manufactured option from Apple. With four days left to go, 63.5% of the 76,658 voters have chosen yes.

Would you buy a Made In America computer from Anduril for 20% more than Chinese-manufactured options from Apple?

– Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) July 20, 2025

Luckey asked the same question during the summit, adding that he'd "looked into it very, very deeply."

Luckey also said that he'd had "conversations with everyone you would need to have to do this. Both on the chip side, on the assembly side, the manufacturing side. I know exactly how to do it. What it would cost. How long it would take."

Luckey did say that he hopes somebody else makes a US-manufactured laptop before Anduril does as there's "no reason" for his company to be the first, "unless it's truly not going to be done by anyone else."

The former Facebook employee said he had even come up with a potential name for the laptop, one that's pro-American and includes a gambling reference (Patriot Ace, at a guess?).

Here's the moment where @PalmerLuckey interrupted @ashleevance at Reindustrialize to ask:

"How many people in the audience would buy an American made computer if it was 20% more expensive?"

The full clip is a great distillation of his thinking on the opportunity. https://t.co/aEvFdAxyBx pic.twitter.com/77qsvBJ52d

– REINDUSTRIALIZE SUMMIT (@reindsummit) July 20, 2025

While there have been laptops assembled in the US, these still use parts from overseas. Luckey seems to be talking about a machine that falls under the FTC's Made in USA Standard that requires products carrying this pledge to be "all or virtually all" made in the US. It should contain no – or negligible – foreign content.

An entirely US-made laptop would certainly please Donald Trump. The president has been pushing for Apple to move 100% of its manufacturing and assembly to the United States. However, given Apple's extensive supply chain and the costs involved, an American-made iPhone would at best take many years to achieve, though the reality is that it would likely be impossible. There's also the impact on the handset's price. Analysts say increased manufacturing and labor costs could see the iPhone rise to $3,500 – a lot more than 20% of the current MSRP.

In related news, we recently heard that Luckey is one of several tech billionaires backing a new crypto-friendly digital bank called Erebor – yes, it's another Lord of the Rings reference.

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Palmer Luckey asks if you'd pay 20% more for a laptop entirely made in the US

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Sure, why not? It's cheaper than tariffs and more US jobs means a stronger economy and better buying power for everyone living there.

 

[PXAbstraction]

If a Twitter poll says it, it must be true!

But he's also not wrong. Frankly, I'm surprised the premium would only be 20%. I've said for years that the reason everything computer related is made in China and quality is dropping is that people want to pay $300 for a laptop that should cost $700. And don't even get me started on the real cost of phones. That cheap price always comes with a different cost.

 

[m4a4]

Blindly? No. A locally made device would also need to be as good, if not better, quality.

 

[Hassanabi]

Not surprising that the poll result is like this on X(Twitter) a site filled with mostly right-wing nationalists of any country.

It's also not a surprise since he added "Chinese" a word like "Muslim", "Russia", "North Korea" and several others that has a heavily negative implication in the American mind and most of the rest of the world for whatever reason.

If you changed the question to "Would you buy a Made In America computer if it cost you 20% more?" the results might be wildly different. But even so this is an internet poll, like any random poll people just give random answers anyways.

Such results could be seen from polls like: Mountain Dew's Name the dew poll resulted in "Hitler did nothing wrong" winning or Taylor Swift would've performed for "Horace Mann School for the Deaf" or the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)’s new polar research vessel would have been called the "RSS Boaty McBoatface".

Even predating current-day conflicts, if you had someone with a name in Russian- or Chinese name in an online game they were immediately branded: Cheaters, hackers or bad players and cursed out for no reason. That is just in gaming, now ask some random American and they'll blame everything on everything outside the US for every problem in the US.

It also wouldn't be 'just 20%' more expensive, that's practically impossible and you're also not looking at the health implications with factories being moved to your backyards, polluting your air and water in your neighborhoods. Meaning even more disease(cancers) and other significant health issues that comes from these factories inherently or because they cheap out by dumping chemical waste illegally like many many many companies have done before and will do.

More expensive devices = Fewer devices sold = Factories being closed to save money = People losing jobs.

You also have to take into consideration that this 20% increase will also be the case for universities, hospitals and companies purchasing hardware. A 20% increase in hardware cost means your studies will cost you more, your hospital bills will cost you more and it means your employer will likely try to take away benefits or even fire people to save money.

People make it sound so simple but there's tons of ripple effects from even the smallest of changes...

 

[stewi0001]

Back in the day, stuff "Made in the USA" meant quality. Now it's no better than any where else.

 

[mgwerner]

As long as it wasn't Crapintosh, I would consider it.

 

[JohnRambo4]

 

[RudyBob]

Not surprising that the poll result is like this on X(Twitter) a site filled with mostly right-wing nationalists of any country.

Right Wing and America First !! Sweet, Sweet Music

 

[Greggs]

Americans say yes but when it comes time to make the purchase (vote with money) they buy the item that meets their needs at the best cost. Besides common sense, most people don't have the disposable income to pay additional even if they support the concept.

 

[AlexIL]

US made? All of it?

With spyware included, No.
Spyware free, Yes.

Since US with it's Meta deep into spying on people obvious answer is no. ThSnks, wehad enough of US made software that spy on us. Microsoft is excellent example of that. Facebook right behind it.

 

[Sovietrebel]

BS. This guy knows nothing or is just being rhetorical.

The final price of a laptop made entirely in the USA, including components, labor, and assembly, would skyrocket. We’re talking 60% to 80% higher than current prices.

Almost every part inside your laptop, from the display to the SSD to the battery is manufactured in Asia. Recreating that supply chain in the U.S. would cost way more, and good luck matching the scale, automation, and labor costs of China.

A $1,000 laptop? Expect it to be $1,600 to $1,800, easily.
And that's being conservative.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Entrepreneurship 101: Follow up each poll yes response with the ask to actually buy one and watch most people admit they didn’t want it enough to pay for it.

Future customer surveys are worthless without actual money changing hands (e.g., preorder).

 

[axiomatic13]

I trust that X poll about as much as I trust gas station sushi.

 

[GABulldog]

When Henry Ford made his first automobile, every part of the car was made in his own factory. He felt the only way to make a quality automobile was to have control over the production. Nowadays when a product says made in America, it just means the product was assembled in America.

 

[GreyOmega]

Entrepreneurship 101: Follow up each poll yes response with the ask to actually buy one and watch most people admit they didn’t want it enough to pay for it.

Future customer surveys are worthless without actual money changing hands (e.g., preorder).

Exactly. It's the classic McDonald's McLean burger scenario. What the customers say they want and what the customers will actually buy are two separate things.

 

[maxxcool7421]

EFF NO... what a stupid question

 

[Theinsanegamer]

EFF NO... what a stupid question

Why is it stupid? Just because you dont like it?

 

[hahahanoobs]

If Americans REALLY cared about US manufacturing they'd already be boycotting foreign products instead of Bud Light and Tesla.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

If Americans REALLY cared about US manufacturing they'd already be boycotting foreign products instead of Bud Light and Tesla.

That works....if there is a domestic option.

But right now, there are no domestically produced cell phones, or laptops. At some point someone has to start an initiative to fix that.

When Henry Ford made his first automobile, every part of the car was made in his own factory. He felt the only way to make a quality automobile was to have control over the production. Nowadays when a product says made in America, it just means the product was assembled in America.

And he was absolutely right, if modern Ford is anything to go by and the sheer number of recalls they have from supplier produced parts.

I've never bought the whole "we cant make things here" line. If india can get iphone production up and running, there is no excuse for not being able to do it here, or in the EU. It's clearly possible, its just that multi trillion dollar corpos dont want to invest any money into the economy when it would cost them 19 superyachts.

 

[bviktor]

Yeah, voting is cheap. Too bad that in real life, you vote with your wallet. The complete transition to Chinese manufacturing didn't happen overnight, it took decades of people being cheapskates. It's an empirical fact.

 

[Eldrach]

Considering the US doesn't have the raw materials to make computers - This wouldn't be a reality. Just because the factories would be on US soil, wouldn't mean Lithium, Cobalt and other metals and components would be possible to get locally. With the raw materials also under heavy tariff - The production cost would possibly be 20% higher, but add tariffs ontop for the materials and you'd be looking at a higher price.

20% of course is not even close to the salary discrepancy between China and the US - we're talking about at least 50% there.

Would you accept a computer made entirely in the US to cost 70% more - Yes / No? would be a more fair question.

 

[DrSuess]

US made? All of it?

With spyware included, No.
Spyware free, Yes.

Since US with it's Meta deep into spying on people obvious answer is no. ThSnks, wehad enough of US made software that spy on us. Microsoft is excellent example of that. Facebook right behind it.

No, just the sticker that says Made In America

 

[Prosercunus]

Yes, but the caveat is actual quality differences and support.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

Made and assembled are two different things.