> Meanwhile $3k to get 5 feet of 240 ran in a conduit and an outlet installed in the US.

If you're the homeowner you can do this work yourself, and the permits and inspections will cost a tenth of that. If you live in one of the few states where this isn't true, that's a you problem.

> For many apartment and condo complexes, it just isn't doable as a reasonable retrofit.

The problem with charging in apartments and condo complexes is not that US outlets are not 240 volts, it's that if those places provide places to park at all then there's little chance those parking spots are electrified at all in the first place.