Yes and no. But let's run through the list of absurdities anyways:

1) Many people will need to swap out stems for fit, and this one is integrated into the "look" of the bike, encouraging newbies to leave it be even if it doesn't fit right.
2) It actually decreases functionality, rather than simply costing more for better aesthetics like many bike parts.
3) The decreased functionality means that even more people will need to replace it for optimum fit, but even fewer will. See #1. Fun, huh?
4) When shops do swap it out for people, they'll probably never be able to get rid of it on another bike because of the reduced range of fit and the color. But then, it might be just perfect for someone looking for that "custom" look for their tarck bike.