Both the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF may be offered with battery choices. It's a trend that makes sense.

The intense scrutiny of normal occurrences, like garage fires or car fires, that happen to involve a Tesla Model S could be part of an effort to quash Tesla Motors and stop electric car adoption.

Lead-acid batteries are heavier and more toxic than their lithium ion counterparts, but are widely used to power the 12-volt system on electric cars.

The solar company's CEO is Elon Musk's cousin, so there's synergy galore in this deal, which could ultimately lower the cost of EV cells.

The li-ion "inflection point" is fast approaching, and prices should drop as low as $180 per kilowatt-hour by 2020, said analyst Sam Jaffe.

Tesla was just recovering from the fallout after a Washington State crash and fire. A second incident, this time in Mexico, is worrying both consumers and the financial markets. But, again, the circumstances tend to favor Tesla's claim that battery fires will be limited and occur only in extraordinary circumstances.

The Miami-based company has been dramatically expanding, adding in addition to ECOtality, 350Green, EVPass and Beam Charging. It promises great service, an open network and hundreds of fast chargers.

The US Government is putting more dollars behind research into advanced electric vehicle technologies including batteries and drive train components.

General Electric and Lawrence Berkeley Lab are collaborating on a new type of battery that uses low-cost materials that still manage to produce high energy density. It's still in the lab stage, so don't expect to see results anytime soon.

Smart's battery rental program has proved wildly popular in Europe. In the U.S., it will drop the Smart Electric Drive's purchase price to $20,650, before the federal tax credit.