Just buy a Thinkpad or another laptop that has good support for Linux.
I definitely get the argument that your supporting Linux by buying a System 76 computer, but the last time I checked IBM Red Hat isn't exactly a charity.
Those two components are the unique selling propositions System76 has over your standard Linux-ready laptop. And they aren't quite unique when you realize System76 is commissioning laptops from the likes of Clevo.
E: I know I just rehashed by last comment a little bit, but it felt like the point didn't come across properly. I was supporting the mention that the Linux-first USP of S76 wasn't strong enough, and building on top of it.
This feels like a really odd niche to me.
Users who want Linux, but don't want to do the work to install it ?
I think I see your point though.
Here's a Clevo for 900$, which is 300 less than System 76's cheapest model. https://xoticpc.com/collections/sager-clevo-laptops/products...
There's great risk installing such a thing yourself, as you can end up bricking your laptop with very little recourse than to break out a soldering iron. Or if you don't do your homework carefully, end up with a half functioning PC because things like display brightness and audio apparently require driver binaries within UEFI that need to be there to work.
That is a Clevo laptop, but many vendors do use their models and don't advertise as such. Gigabyte, for example, uses Clevo for their bottom tier models with no special marketing name. I don't doubt that their other models are Clevo, but I can tell that those ones are.