I really don't understand why going EV seems to be synonymous with "collect all the data." The only differences should be in the drivetrain, and they don't need to collect any data to switch that to an electric motor from an ICE or Hydrid drive system.
I suspect that it's because they are marketed to be as much of a tech gadget as transportation. An iPad on wheels. So they figure that they can slip in this crap.
Yeah, and I really don't want that crap. I just want something to get me from A to B that I can fill up at home. Give me something cheap and reliable and I'll buy it.
The sad part is that manual transmissions are going away, which means I'm completely SOL if the electronics die. But I guess on the flipside, there's no transmission to break, so that's nice.
I think competition is pretty good right now, the main issue is range. Toyota is claiming to have much longer range battery tech in like 3 years (they've promised before), so if that materializes, we could see really compelling EVs in like 5 years.