This is not a gaming laptop. It's a laptop that runs on a RISC-V processor that uses an open source instruction set architecture that was developed at UC Berkeley. This laptop will be used by scientists and other data driven folks who want a lower power edge computing device that isn't running on closed source instruction set architecture.
The kind of people that will be helping to engineer the technologies of tomorrow, like a self driving car. It's not exactly bleeding edge technology, but getting this type of hardware into more people's hands will absolutely help drive the processor's maturity, which could lead to some breakthroughs down the road.
The target consumer for this product will absolutely shell out $1500 for one of these. source: me. it's me. I'll be buying one.