If downvotes had been used as originally intended, they would be perfectly fine. But the cultural shift over time on the site from “downvote things not adding to the conversation” to “downvote what I don’t agree with” made their existence more toxic to conversations. Weighing down unpopular opinions in the sort feed made it even easier for echo chambers to build up. Having a way to give comments that are productive a bump is enough for effectively sorting things.
The article mentions they’ll do this with “new technology” but following the links I can’t find any specific details on what they’re referring to. 600 miles of range is a sizable jump from current standards, but it sounds like they’re just stating the obvious that eventually we’ll hit 600+ miles of range as batteries improve.
To me, the biggest improvements will continue to be charge times. Right now there’s such a hard barrier with BEVs when your trip crosses the threshold from “just have to charge before and after” to “have to plan where to stop for hours to charge.”