How many of the top 7 auto makers would have closed their ICE R&D departments if politicians hadn't effectively forced them to?
Probably near none. But they would've also squashed BEV makers like Tesla if possible by lobbying for rules against them. They've used the legislative influence for a long time to do things like squash the GM EV (can't remember the name of the car from the 90s, was it just "EV"?) even though there was a market demand for it. If fedgov in the US tells automakers they'll get nothing in return for ICE R&D, that's what they'll do. If they can lobby against other market competition and create barriers to entry in return, they'll do that.