Earlier quoted context omitted.
The NYT can change any of the tech they use and still be the NYT in 100 years. Wordpress is the technology, if it changes, it becomes something else. That's the difference, explained.
Wordpress.com can change their technology without becoming something else. They own the Wordpress trademark just like NYT owns theirs. Somebody who buys a 100-year registration from Wordpress will have the service delivered on whatever Wordpress has become by 2123.
People use WP because it's a technology they understand and can put to a particular use. If that changes, said people may not use it anymore.
If the NYT decides to change their content delivery platform to, literally, whatever, people would still go read the NYT. Their audience doesn't care.
If WP becomes a different product (a static site generator for Rust, deployed with Kubernetes?), their customer base will drop to ~0 overnight.