Re: could matlab-mode be in ELPA or the GNU emacs tree (like auctex and org-mode)?

[dick]

PL>    We support GNU Emacs on proprietary operating systems because we hope
PL> this taste of freedom will inspire users to escape from them.

Inertia is real, and institutions will always opt for circuitous rhetoric over
policy reversal to avoid retcon'ing a longstanding inconsistency.  GNU happens
to be rather expert at this kind of casuistry.

Without data, I agree with OP that if I were a Windows user, I imagine myself
more inclined to stick with Windows if GNU offered a fully functioning emacs
there (fortunately for GNU, it doesn't).