I would say it doesn't apply to most medium sized or larger tech companies, or even most medium sized or larger non-tech companies that have formalized leetcode

I would say it doesn't apply to most medium sized or larger tech companies, or even most medium sized or larger non-tech companies that have formalized leetcode-based hiring practices. You can come off as the most awesome person to work with, but they'll typically reject you if you can't solve the leetcode problems to whatever minimum standard they're expecting.