I feel like this is closer to the real answer. A lot of the criticism of Tesla applies to other EVs as well. Elon tanking his credibility opened up a dialogue about how EVs in general are super inconvenient, destroy roads, and aren’t nearly as “green” as they seem. This coupled with the US automakers focusing on behemoths instead cheap commuters only amplified this.

The best, most patriotic people I served with were two guys from Haiti.