When a product team is known for shipping fast and building something that works great, those two things aren't equally safe when the pressure's on.
Speed is obvious to customers. They'll quickly notice a slow page load or a laggy interaction. And they'll tell you about it. The team, being used to shipping fast, will rush to fix the issues and the customers will sing their praises once again.
But accessibility? Not so much.
Most of the team can't see the problem. Screen reader users, keyboard-only navigators, people with cognitive differences aren't on the team. Their frustrations rarely show up in analytics. And lots of times, people who can't use the product won't complain. They'll just move on to something they can use.
So when it comes down to a choice between speed and accessibility, it's usually accessibility that gives. It's not because anyone decided it doesn't matter, but because it's harder to measure, harder to demo and easier to quietly defer.
That's the trap.
The things we protect tend to be the things we can easily point to. And the things we let slip are the ones affecting the people we forgot to look for in the first place.