Flatness helps

Infrastructure helps more. I live in a hilly city and break a mild sweat pedaling up a hill to get home from work (no complaints, it's good cardio). e-scooters and bikes - slowly - get up the hills too, but it's a major difference (especially for scooters) doing this up on an old bumpy sidewalk vs an asphalt bike path

In flat landscapes the e in ebike is superfluous.

It's not superfluous at all. It's been 30C+ in flat London for weeks and my ebike means I arrive at work unflustered and in my normal clothes. There are plenty of other benefits than easier hills.

Ye I might have been trying a bit too much to be a bit cocky.

Only if your goal is to transport yourself. I use my ebike for groceries, typically I'll have the motor in the lowest power setting on the way to the store, then coming back with cargo I'll have the motor turned up. I can bring back heavy bulk items that would have been painful with a pedal bike.

My parents live on a street steeper than San Francisco (we live along the base of a mountain range), my ebike eats that hill for lunch

Ebikes really help on hills. As nice as ebikes on flat land are, they improve hills so much more.