I'm still not sure whether it applies to this case, but on the Prius at least, "neutral" is a software concept. There is no physical linkage from the drive mode

I'm still not sure whether it applies to this case, but on the Prius at least, "neutral" is a software concept. There is no physical linkage from the drive mode selector ("gearshift") to anything mechanical, and there are no mechanical components that could uncouple the powerplant from the wheels. Putting the powertrain in neutral is accomplished by removing torque commands from the electric motors, at which time the engine and wheels can free-spin. At the time this was in the news, I was never able to find a coherent explanation of whether any such bit-flip affecting some piece of software on some module, would also inhibit the interpretation and implementation of a neutral drive mode selection.