de0u
For the example you gave, though possible, I think it's separate from this situation because it's a legal issue so GOS team have no say at all. For the current situation, they have a choice because they have stated that it's still possible to support Pixel without MTE if they choose to.
They can reverse their previous decision, but it's with the caveat of diminishing returns. Assuming they've decided not to support Pixel without MTE now, then reverse their decision in a few months, they would need an additional few more months to support Pixel 11 since they've mentioned that it's not easy.
By the time GOS is stable for Pixel 11, it would be almost the time for Motorola or Pixel 12 to be released or it might have even already been released so there's not much benefit in supporting Pixel 11 by then, because I doubt Pixel 12 can have even worse hardware security than Pixel 11 so most will go with either Pixel 8/9/10 or pre-order Pixel 12 if they still want to stick with Pixel.
It will benefit the current owners of Pixel 11 who think that GOS is good to have but not mandatory so they're fine with using stock Android or other custom OS. For those who already bought Pixel 11 but think GOS is mandatory, they probably will sell their Pixel 11 to get the previous generations soon instead of potentially waiting for months for confirmation.
If GOS team from the start decides to support Pixel 11 even without MTE, then the current owners of Pixel 11 can determine the value of MTE to them based on their threat model. If they think MTE is not critical for them, then they don't need to sell/return and they can still enjoy certain benefits of Pixel 11 like better modem.