Embraer have been taking mugging lessons from the thieves at Boeing. When you
buy an aircraft, it comes with a whole bunch of limitations which can be removed
with cash.
Not strictly true. When Boeing produce an aircraft they design and produce what they believe the market wants, at an acceptable price. Included in this price will be an element for R & D, actual production costs, testing costs and finally, product liability insurance. As a guide, the product liability insurance premium alone for UTC in the early nineteen eighties was US$250,000,000 for one year.
Boeing could go ahead and produce an aircraft with every 'upgrade', (not 'Limitation'), included but this would take the basic price above what many customers are prepared to pay and include many items they don't want as well as above what the competition charge for a similar basic article.
If a customer now decides they want upgrades then they have to pay for them, including their production costs and the protection of product liability. See the post of
deptrai above which explains why some upgrades are fitted but need to be activated.