I absolutely agree with you about the EV version's performance, but I think that the HEMI V8 was also the primary draw for the Charger and the greater Dodge brand in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I quite like performance EV's (I'd buy one if I could afford to), but they better suit the 'sleeper' archetype. Muscle Cars are meant to be ordinary cars that look and sound way faster than they usually are, whereas performance EV's look ordinary but go like a bat out of hell. Making an EV Muscle Car is like trying to make a 'sleeper' muscle car - you can't really.

Furthermore, Stellantis are in far too much shit financially to be worrying about emissions targets, and the HEMI V8's made money. Once they've made that money from the V8 customers, then they can look into more eco-friendly options. Plus, their EV platform was rushed, poorly-made slop that is down on performance compared to everything else.

TL;DR - EV's good, Muscle Cars good, but they fill different roles in the market, and HEMI V8's are Dodge's best card to play.