Lol'ing at all the "Oculus shot themselves in the foot"; "VR is DOA"; etc. hot takes. If you believe that, you have no sense of perspective. New tech - especially something as game-changing as the Rift/VR - is always very expensive at launch. Let's remember that this is the FIRST consumer version. They're not expecting the general public to buy in at this point. The early adopters will be there, as expected (and if Palmer's tweets are any indication, they'll be there in numbers).
As time goes on, Oculus will iterate. Tech will improve; HW costs (and prices to consumers) will slowly come down. Competition with HTC, Sony, MS, etc. will only help things. The Rift (and VR in general) will eventually begin to gain traction with the general public as prices become more palatable, and people hear more and more stories of the amazing, unique experiences their early adopter friends are having.
Will this ever become a mass market thing like TVs, video game consoles, etc.? Maybe. Maybe not. But that's OK. Oculus and VR are fine.
I can understand being disappointed if you were looking forward to getting a Rift and can't afford it at this initial price point, but let's not act like Oculus is being ridiculous here or VR is a lost cause or something.