"In short, Detroit is drifting further and further from the starter car, while factories in China are specializing in it. Just don’t expect the latter to solve for the former anytime soon."
https://archive.ph/xYi2U
There is a bit of union blaming in the article, but it is an overall good article. Basically import taxes, tariffs, and anti-Chinese political sentiment prevent us from having sub $20k EV car.
I Googled it. Apparently it is common to register your car in Montana if it cannot be registered in your state. Which seems pretty cool to avoid otherwise reasonable regulations