Who comes up with these ideas? I can't even picture a somewhat educated group of people, sitting around a board room table, thinking that this is a remotely good idea.
If this makes the total cost of ownership up front significantly cheaper while keeping overall costs to operate equivalent over the time I plan on keeping the car, this is a completely rational idea. I'm not sure what everyone is so upset about. Sometimes there is a solid economic / utility argument to be made for a certain subset of consumers that will help increase sales. If you don't want it, don't buy it.
It makes it much easier to reposess the battery (and car if applicable) if the payments stop. Although I would not buy such a car myself, I reckon many potential customers wouldn't care. At the same time, those who care will probably either be anti-drm (a minority) or have a higher risk of missing a payment (not the target audience).
I think it's mostly a scheme to suck some money from the State. There are various things involved, but I guess the biggest are the research tax credit, and the special grants for electric cars. I suppose it helps sheltering the profits from normal cars to avoid normal corporate tax. It also helps green washing the brand in the news.
