I’m guessing you aren’t willing to consider that the car companies are just being thrifty rather than extravagant

I work in the industry, I'm well aware. It's an eternal thorn in my side.

    A touch screen is literally one component plus a computer you need anyways.

Not true, and BOM cost isn't the only consideration in manufacturing costs. As I've said in many previous HN threads, the big win for touchscreens is actually on the project scheduling side. That's neither here nor there because my original comment was about the centrally mounted, massive touchscreen a la Tesla as opposed to a smaller, integrated touchscreen. Not buttons vs. touchscreen.

    Flush handles have to do with creating a recess in the body for normal handles. It’s just easier to cut a hole.

That part of a door is manufactured with a series of presses. Whether it's one hole or 16 doesn't make much difference because they're cut all at once.