Futurology

In theory yes, you could try and take apart the battery pack and replace individual cells.

In practice, they are not built to be opened, cells are welded together

And it gets even worse. Many manufacturers have the batter pack as a structural component, meaning replacing the battery requires a lot of disassembly, and poor efficiency means you need large heavy battery packs that are too heavy to be handled without specialized equipment.

I am rooting for a startup called Aptera who gets around this a little with extreme efficiency, thus smaller batteries, and a claimed right to repair philosophy.

Current evs are far too expensive to just replace because of battery damage.

Given all this I still think electric cars are superior for most people, they don't pollute as much, cost to operate them is much lower, and range is good enough now, and will get even better.

Most people don't drive hundreds of miles a day regularly, but for those that do gas or hybrid is still better.

Cost wise it seems like the equivalent of replacing your engine

Cost-wise it's more like the equivalent of buying a new car.