The article also misses the idea that Sony is playing the house in the ongoing camera gambling market.
Almost all digital cameras, mirrorless cameras, phone cameras, iPhones, etc - regardless of maker / manufacturer, uses Sony sensors.
The purchase of Minolta unified sensor tech + software development + lens development and formulation + body ergonomics in one house - something no other maker is able to do, probably aside from Canon (who also uses Sony sensors depending on model) and Leica, which borrows sensors from other makers but has their own imaging tech that they add.
No matter how much money any Nikon, Canon, Pentax, OM system makes, Sony will always be part of the supply chain of those cameras.