"Even though it might sound absurd, Tesla actually applied a "cloud thermostat" approach to car engineering, by which I mean that they did not refrain from using basically consumer-grade equipment for some critical functions of their cars."

Who didn't assume this to be the case? Teslas are automotive iPhones, and I've always assumed they would be scrap in 3-5 years rather than 15-20. This is why I don't think it was ever valid to compare the purchase price to a regular car.