Many years ago when on the takeoff roll in a 747 from a major USA airport we were ordered to stop by ATC. We were about 10 knots short of V1 and chose to ignore the call. We also had in sight ahead a low flying helicopter which was slightly closer than we would have liked it to be but still well clear and we guessed that was the reason. Rejecting the takeoff in a 747 classic at that speed would have meant brakes overheating and many flat tyres.
Once airborne tower said they had ordered us to stop due to a helicopter infringing the zone but as we were airborne contact departure good day. Slavish adherence to ATC who may not understand the nuances and limitations for the particular aircraft you are flying is not necessarily safer. To our mind a rejected takeoff in a jumbo just prior to V1 was more dangerous than getting airborne and having to take evasive action. Stopping after V1 may have resulted in a hull loss and ATC have no way of knowing how close to V1 we are.
One of the posters above stated that if he was a passenger on a plane and he was instructed to goaround he would hope the pilots would do so. If I was on a plane with insufficient fuel for a goaround or a plane with smoke in the flight deck and the pilots could see sufficient runway to stop on I would rather they continue and land. As always we do not know the details and the pilots may have made a serious error. Maybe not.