"But they’re still predominantly internal combustion engine era designs"

This is implicitly saying that what matters is not even the specific car you are buying, but the image of the company and their entire lineup being electric.

This cuts in the opposite direction for me - it is a significant reason why I wouldn't buy a Tesla (other than the price). The company is so tied to Elon that if some sort of scandal happened to him, it would instantly taint owners of the cars.