True in some smaller countries, but in places like the United States it’s very common for people to do a road trip occasionally to visit family or go on vacation.
Stopping for a 30-60 minute charge a couple times per trip isn’t terrible, but it would mean that my annual family visit would become a 2-day drive instead of a 1-day drive. I can deal with that, but many people aren’t ready for it.
I doubt we’ll see gigantic batteries going into small cars for ridiculous range. The efficiency hit would be too large due to the extra weight. I think fast charging and a fast charging network is what we need.
But charging networks are the real issue at this point. They’re out there, but interoperability issues means the various networks often don’t work as fast as they claim or maybe not at all with your car. Range anxiety is bad enough, but when you can’t even be sure the charging station will work when you get there it’s a different level of worry altogether.
The more fossil fuel consumption drops in developed countries, the cheaper fossil fuels get, which would then allow people who currently cannot afford fossil fuels to buy them and replace demand.
That will no doubt upset some ICE vehicle owners with enough disposable income that they could feasibly be targeted with a lucrative product that appeals to them. Good news is that cars with 600 miles and 10 minute recharge to 300 mile (50%) are totally feasible!
E.g. the hummer that GM is rumored to be working on will apparently have 200kwh. Of course it has the weight of a Tank and the aerodynamics of barn door, so it might not be enough to get to 600 miles.
If Tesla ever puts that kind of battery in a Tesla it would probably end up with close to 1000 mile range and they would need to make it a bit bigger. That's 20 hours non stop driving at 50 miles an hour. Absolutely nobody should be doing that. But you could build a car that does that. That's a about 3x what they currently put in a model 3 (75kwh). It will be a bit heavier of course so maybe not 3x the range. But you get my point. Solvable problem for people with money.
For the rest of us normal people, take a break & plug in, go to the bathroom, eat some lunch, stretch your legs, relax, etc. After the 300+ miles that you can get with a few decent EVs that's probably a good idea. It's not the end of the world.