That makes sense, and yeah I imagine the problem isn’t the entertainment system.
I just don’t get the the last paragraph. I don’t know if using Linux affects their code being OS or not. If they’re just running it on top of Linux and not modifying it, it probably won’t be a GPL violation to keep it closed.
ELISA (Enabling Linux in Safety Applications) Project announced that Boeing has joined as a Premier member, marking its commitment to Linux and its effective use in safety critical applications. Hosted by the Linux Foundation, ELISA is an open source initiative that aims to create a shared set of tools and processes to help companies build and certify Linux-based safety-critical applications and systems
I imagine this means they’re contributing both actively and financially to Linux.
Some thinkpads have official support for Ubuntu by the manufacturer (lenovo), which means battery optimizations out of the box, amongst other things. Might be relevant for your laptop.
I doubt they run on windows tbh. If they take issue with with monolithic design of Linux, then windows would be an even bigger problem.
Also, most of the devices in question are probably small controllers, incapable of running windows. (Microsoft are struggling to run it on arm so…)