Were the first on the market ink jet printer cartridges more expensive than the “typewriter” and dot-matrix ink ribbons?
No
What happened soon?

What did a jury in Hillsborough NC later rule?

Crazy.....

ATF+4 was a little bit more than ATF+3 when it came out.

I have posted the SAE paper with the nitty gritty of ATF+4 versus the previous +3 and against GM, Ford, etc.

“We are not hunting enough Sperm Whales today so there is a shortage of naturally good but cheap ATF base stock oil.”

If you think the above sentence a joke or nonsense you need to learn more amusing history..

Why was the stuff in “Lubegard Red Bottle” invented
and what government provided grant money?

I wish we had a retired Lubrizol employee who could tell us whether just “super filtering” used ATF+4 would allow re-use for so many additional miles or hours.

Some parts of ATF+4 may be made originally from methane in natural gas in a “synthetic process of chemical steps”.
Bulk natural gas prices are up 3x to 4x by US region, and even higher in Europe.
That is the only reason I can think of based on “free market forces”.