Exactly!  If they rig their slot machines to the lowest legal payout ratio (82%) then they keep $198 of your $1,100 wager.  The house doubled their investment on a sure bet. 

Government agencies could, and do, buy EVs for their fleets and recoup the fuel and maintenance savings. But the same money disbursed as incentives will encourage consumers to invest 10-20 times more of their own money in the vehicles and companies that they judge to be the most reliable and competitive. The incentives are extremely effective because, as you often point out, "no one would buy those electrobuggies without them".