If you were vital to the economy, you could do it too!
What on earth do you think the crime is?
Improper amortization of R&D expenses? In most locales, including (from what I can gather) the US, there are (generous) initial tax subsidies, followed by a 5-to-15-years earn-back period.
Simply including R&D costs, imagined or otherwise, in COGS seems... fraudulent?
Nah, it's GAAP for the industry since they essentially can't sell cars without that R&D investment.