I have personally installed equipment that included non-optional, always-on cellular data connectivity that allowed it to be configured and monitored from The Clown.

And Amazon rather famously included cellular connectivity with their early Kindle e-ink book-reading devices -- back in '07.

It's been done before. It can be done again.

Eh. If someone wants to waste money keeping up a data connection with my washing machine, I don't have much of an issue with it, as long as it doesn't have any microphones.