Can someone explain why Star Citizen is taking so long to develop?

Hey everyone, I’ve been playing Star Citizen for a few months now and honestly I’m loving it. But I constantly see complaints, salt, and people saying the devs are incompetent or wasting time.

I’m not trying to start a fight or defend anyone blindly—I’m genuinely curious: What are the actual reasons the game is taking so long?

I know it’s a huge project, but for people who have been following the development longer than I have, what are the biggest technical or organizational factors behind the slow pace? Is it engine changes, scope creep, tech hurdles, something else?

Would love an explanation from someone who understands the development history better than I do.

Also, feel free to add me in-game if anyone wants to run missions sometime — Username: oops