From what I understand, nVidia were aiming for $999 but the price of components because of the ongoing shortages meant they couldn't do it at this price. The 3090 hasn't been a victim of scalping really, the really expensive stuff seems to be have avoided it so far, will have to see with the 3080 ti.
Could be true, but that might also imply they are losing money on the other cards they sell, which I find hard to believe. It seems more likely they are regretting not being able to capitalize on the market. The 3080ti is a unnecessary release in a market that sells every single 3080. What it does do, is bump that $700 price tier up to $1200. Yup. Seeing them go for $2500 on ebay already.