There is no reason that EVs can't be built for less than comparable ICE vehicles. Systematically, they are much simpler.

The battery is the large, heavy, expensive part but breakthroughs are being made here too and more are on the way.

https://www.carscoops.com/2026/02/toyota-solid-state-battery...

If American manufacturers don't figure this out, China and Japan will bury them in the "free market" --- which increasingly means outside the USA.