Battery prices are falling, so why are electric cars still so expensive?

It's 2025 - prices are based on value, not costs.

If batteries are costing less, this means higher profits for car maker, not lower prices for buyers.

I don't see mention of protectionism here, i.e. keeping lower cost players like BYD out of the US market (whose price point was ~$30k iirc)

A lot of governments stopped subsidising electric cars. And now the rise of tariffs.