I've been seeing this talking point around a lot. I'm not sure where it started but it seems to resonate with people and so get repeated. But let me rephrase it: "We can only reduce the noise by 49% by changing the engine, then we'd need to look at tires, which EVs already tend towards low rolling resistance versions of".

Which has a different tone than the "let's just not bother" vibe I get from the original version.