True, if you’re spending thousands on gear, then price might not be a huge issue. But “free” as in “without cost” is not the type of free that is important to me.
The important part is having the freedom to control my toolchain as I see fit. No phoning home, no automatic updating, no minimum version requirent. It also means that as long as I have a platform that can run some version of the software, I can use my files.
So “free” as in cost is a misunderstanding on his part.
The car metaphor he uses is weird as well. Are Adobe products supposed to be racing slicks?