[xyzzy_plugh]

I tend to side with RMS as well here, but I see things a bit differently:

You're free to install an alternative infotainment system that allows customization.

Mandating that manufacturers develop a way for you to safely/securely flash their devices to run your own software just doesn't seem like a good idea. The small percentage of people who want this force everyone else to pay for it due to the increased operational costs to develop it.

And it's not trivial. I've shipped consumer electronics. We thought long and hard about how to make it possible for users to run their own software. It's hard enough to figure out a method that doesn't sacrifice user safety somehow (can you RMA the device after? Can we validate you voided the warranty? Can you resell your device and tarnish the brand? Can you resell devices with malware? Can you exceed regulatory limits (e.g. radio broadcasting power)?)

Not to mention the effort to actually develop and maintain this method of updating, exposing it (adding a USB port?), testing it, etc. It's a huge cost.

Now, companies like Apple are interesting because they're actively spending to prevent that from happening -- it might be operationally cheaper for them to leave the flood gates open.

[the8472]

If it contains a web browser or can play back/view any sort of media files they're potentially exploitable. So that system must already be developed in a way that it can't compromise the safety-critical parts of the car network anyway. So it's not (or shouldn't) imposing much of an extra burden on the manufacturer unless they have cut corners on security in the first place.