The differentiating factor between car models is not the hardware in the world of EVs. It's the software. And right now, if you aren't either on Tesla, Rivian, or Polestar the software experience is horrific.
Tesla has some great software ideas, and awful execution. Yes, they have the ability to continuously improve vehicles after sale and they use it. But they use it to scramble the climate control location every third month, and to charge subscriptions for hardware their customers already bought.
It's whackadoodle. I mean how different are cars, really? They have wheels, doors, windows, odometers, go places at various speeds, need fuel ... you'd think there'd be some agreed universal baseline like MIDI ... you'd think.
And the manufacturers held on to their protocols like they had done their own Manhatten project so everyone just had to backwards engineer things.
Why is inoperability so precious? Ultimately the purchasing decision is the car's price, features, availability, terms of the deal... The phone app has nothing to do with it, let it go.
If I’m generous to car companies they don’t want to be beholden to a third party duopoly. If I’m not then they want to monetise with typical surveillance capitalism.
Oh, that old canard: “yeah, but just you wait!” I live in the present, and I’ll deal with the facts as they are today, not some hypothetical future offered up to win an argument.
Makes sense for car companies to keep options open.