> They charge $900 CAD for 512 GB -> 2 TB SSD.
The SSD is user replaceable, so you can replace it with a cheaper third party option.
I would still call this practice malicious. There's no justifiable reason for that much of a jump in price in the first place.
The Mac Pro is the only Apple system that has user-replaceable storage. The Mac Mini & Studio both feature slotted storage modules, but Apple firmware locks it and so it can't be replaced much less upgraded.