my guess/understanding is that every team at Google is under significant pressure to monetize. Unlike the old days where there was more of a strategy of "build anything that brings people in, search/ads will monetize those eyeballs".

The 2018 google maps price increase could have given some execs HUGE bonuses under that new model, even if it isn't ideal from a Google-wide standpoint

Before the 2018 price increase I was convinced Google didn't care to have lots of little customers paying for Google Maps. It was all peanuts compared to their main income