Why doesn't ICE hp = EV hp? You mean because the area under the torque "curve" is so much greater?
Regardless of whether the Tesla's hp numbers can be usefully compared to an ICE vehicle (I actually think they can), what confuses/bothers me is trying to compare one Tesla to another.
When the Model S debuted, you had different power figures for the 60, 85, and P85--which appeared to reflect reality, at least from the performance measures I've seen.
Now, the 60 and 85 are rated as having the same output. Since the 60 is a couple of hundred pounds lighter, it should be faster, right? But presumably it's not, because (again presumably)* the 85 and 60 really *don't* have the same power output, since the 85's pack has a higher voltage than the 60's.
If you are deep in the weeds on EV tech, you may understand this; you may even think it's as obvious as the nose on your face. But for someone not steeped in the ins and outs of EV engineering, when the spec sheet says Car A has 380 hp and Car B also has 380 hp, they are quite reasonably going to assume they have the same power.
I suppose you can say, well, who cares how much power either car makes so long as they perform? But that argument proves too much; you might as well just get rid of spec sheets entirely at that point.
__________
*I'm assuming, as most people seem to, that Tesla didn't make an actual engineering change that leveled the real world output of the 60 and 85. Maybe they did.
With the first battery swapping station coming soon perhaps Tesla started listing the potential because if you put the 85kWh battery in a 60 your performance will improve.