I don't see how this is true. $35 in 2012 is roughly $47 today. You can get a pi zero 2 kit today including the adapters, case, and PSU, for $49.95. Just the PSU, which the original didn't come with, is worth more than the $3 difference.

Besides, both the pi 3 and the pi 4 were $35 at launch, so they were actually beating inflation when they were launched.