I explained this in another thread. They're ending sale of perpetual license. They're not breaking ones they've already sold. That being said, eventually the version that perpetual licenses were sold for will stop getting updates and they'll become a security risk. That was always the lifecycle for perpetual licenses, though.
Yes. A perpetual license just means no fixed end date, not that it's irrevocable or interminable.
You can probably get away with continuing to use ESXi free licenses even commercially, you just won't have support. And at home, nothing is going to stop existing versions from working.
It doesn't actually say it's perpetual. It only says "The term of this EULA begins on Delivery of the Software and continues until this EULA is terminated in accordance with this Section 9", but that section only covers termination for cause or insolvency, there is no provision for termination at VMware's discretion. So, while I'm not a lawyer, it definitely sounds like you can continue using ESXi free.
But that one has even less language about license term and termination. Although it does define "perpetual license" as "a license to the Software with a perpetual term", again not irrevocable or interminable.
VMware's support was excruciating anyway. As a VCP, I learned to just figure it out on my own or work around it, they never fixed a single problem or bug I encountered.
You don't have a contract signed with them, don't you?
ELI5: Your neighbor has a pool. He allows you to swim there, "any day you want". Then he is off his meds and he stops letting you in. Can you sue him because you had some rights to swim in his pool before?