My #1 fear is that folks who aren’t rich will stop considering the purchase of a new or used Tesla, period. Tesla’s mission was to make EV driving widely adopted and affordable for the masses, but 99% of the masses don’t have a spare $25k. Many of my non-rich friends (which is all of them) were considering my selling point of Tesla’s low operating costs (2-3 cents per mile for electricity). That’s out the window if I have to explain it’s generally 2-3 times cheaper per mile to operate versus their ICE vehicle...unless the battery fails, and then it’s WAY more expensive and might require a 2nd mortgage (on top of the car payment). I’m not so worried about my situation, but I’m thinking this could be a fatal blow to adoption by the masses if/when stories such as the OP’s hits the newsfeed. This single, crazy high cost item could be Tesla’s true Achilles heel if they can’t get that replacement price way down.
Even if Tesla can make the pack for less, there is little reason for them to pass the savings to the consumer. You have already purchased a car, and they hold the monopoly on the battery which is required to make your car run. Unless battery replacement is common enough that the cost becomes a factor when people decide what car to buy, I would have no expectation for Tesla to reduce replacement battery price.
If battery pack replacements prove to be rare for out-of-warranty cars, then I agree that Tesla might have less incentive to reduce prices. However, even then, keeping costs reasonable would provide comfort to prospective buyers.
I would assume this kind of thinking from most businesses too... so it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume Tesla would also be thinking somewhere along this line.
