Also wider tires (that typically accompany larger wheels) mean more friction and rolling resistance contributing to range loss.

The only logical reasons I can think of are to clear larger brakes required for heavy EVs and so that you would not have to have insanely high pressures in high profile narrow tires to support the weight, which would result in harsh ride as well as poor handling. Range is king for EVs as Tesla claims to have the best and why Musk has fudgegate. From everything I’ve read, the performance models only have worse range due solely to larger wheels.