[leoff]

I think the models are under high load right now, and not working properly.

[onion2k]

So the error messaging is wrong, giving the user the impression it's their fault for not paying. I think that's worse..

[theshrike79]

It's both.

Free tier users get to use what's left over from Google's capacity. They pay with their data, Google uses their inputs for training.

Paid tier users pay with money, Google doesn't use their inputs. They get priority when capacity is running out (like right after a launch as happened here).