You are being protected through lower prices driven by competition. If you read the article, it mentions that MS is selling O365 without Teams at a lower price,

You are being protected through lower prices driven by competition. If you read the article, it mentions that MS is selling O365 without Teams at a lower price, so you’re not really paying extra (or marginally so based on the standalone Teams pricing). If Teams is bundled with O365 for free, as a business, why would I use Slack or Zoom if I am cost conscious? Fast forward 5 years, Teams is the only video/messaging software left in the market, and MS can price as they wish because you don’t have another option.