An electric car should last at least as long as an ICE car... because they are simpler...
People say similar things a lot in seriousness, but I don't think they know what they mean by "simpler".
Is EFI simpler than a carburetor?
Yes, carburetor is more reparable, if you know what to do, but EFI is much simpler.
It is different attributes.
But it's not obvious to me what simpler for an end user has to do with more reliable. I mean, my smartphone usually dies in about a year or two. Actual phones in olden days didn't.
So I still don't get why electric cars would be considered simpler in a sense that's relevant to reliability in expectation.
Carburetors need adjustment and maintenance, but some cars with ECUs and EFI from the 80s are getting old enough that the electronics are actually failing. So how do you define "simple" and "reliable"?
Exact sizes and moving parts ARE problem.
Yes, EFIs from 80s (35+ years) are deteriorating due do deteriorating of conformal coating and soldered joints. But how much times jets and membranes of actively-used carburetor should be replaced in 35+ life span? Especially, if gasoline is only so-so? Why replacing parts of carburetor is Ok and replacing EFI control box is not?
You could not buy new EFI, but could buy repair kit for carburetor? It is sad, but it is not problem of technology per se and, again, is not about simplicity, but about vendor lock-in. It is another (but valid!) argument.
And I have opposite experience with modern electronics: I'm still using my first (!) smartphone. As main one, not as backup. I'm using my workstation around the clock for 6+ years (I'm not turn off it for nigh, it works, really, 95% if these 6 years non-stop), my home NAS is built on platform which is 7+ years old (yes, HDDs are much newer, but HDDs are MECHANICAL!). My LCD monitor is 11+ years old (!) and still in perfect condition, and my PREVIOUS monitor is still used by my wife without problems...
It is all anecdotal evidences, but I've replaced a lot of sprocket and chains on my bicycle over last 6 years. I need to replace sprockets and chain on my motorcycle each season.
Yes, if only one transistor on my MoBo dies, I'll need to replace MoBo (and CPU, as it is old and you can not buy MoBo for it now) as one piece, I could not replace transistor as chain or brake pads (grr, really, I can, but it is not very common), but still my computer is much more reliable than my (expensive? almost top-of-the-line) bicycle and my motorcycle, and my EFI-equipped motorcycle is more reliable than previous one, with complex carburetor with many fine passages, calibrated jets, special membrane & stuff.
(Edit: typos and grammar).