Auto makers of old already did this years ago. They put subpar effort into vehicles, sell more of them because brand and existing supply chain, and people hate them. They pull it, and people love the gas models by comparison. We are already seeing this with bad batteries that catch fire spontaneously. They know this will happen, and given enough of it EV batteries will endure restriction if not outright ban from some roads.

Ford, nor any other American manufacturer of old can change into a business of lithium batteries and EV design. They lack the R&D or care. You can't take engine nuts and tell them their next project is 4 DC motors with wheels and a big battery. Imagine the racing dialogue: "team A has the 1.1 5 firmware update, giving them a leading edge over team B with a 5% increase in 0 to 60!"