Cars recharge at night, there is tons of surplus capacity at night, if running on a timed meter, cost should be lower than average cost of electricity.
Battery technology is really inadequate for the job and your other comments are spot on.
They really need to forget about the electric only range, put about 1-2 kwh of cheap lead acid storage in the car for acceleration and build a more traditional diesel-electric drive train like on a locomotive. Diesel engine connected only to a generator. Wheels driven only by electricity. A small capacity storage to give boost for acceleration and allow the engine to shut off when power needs are very low.
The cost differential would be very small compared to a traditional diesel car, you would get the benefits of regenerative braking and shutting down the engine at stop lights and it would get rid of the heavy drive train.
If properly set up, it would be fun to drive too.
But, what about those people who have to run several errands during the day? For example, were I to lose my mind and buy this POS, I live about 20 miles from the nearest shopping centers and, when I run errands, it is not unusual for me to drive a total of 60 - 80 miles round-trip.
Detroit (among the primary culprits) has created the image of a mobile society that allows us to live away from city centers and commute to the places we want/need to go so that everyone can enjoy "country" living. If there were a chance that I would waste my money on this, I would have to follow my wife driving the car with my SUV and a trailer so that when the charge is gone, I could load it up on a trailer and get it home. We both know that charging stations will not be installed at shopping centers, hotel/motel facilities and the like to accommodate these vehicles for years to come.
This is a classic example of Washington putting the cart before the horse because they pushed this vehicle out the door before the technology necessary to support it was available. And, how many people are going to throw $41K on a car that remains in the garage (with the monthly payments for the car and the insurance) in hopes that the supporting technology is eventually going to catch up to the places THEY go??
Obama didn't think this one through thoroughly (what a surprise!) and GM will discover that they threw a lot of R&D money away on something that likely has, at best, a tiny market among the most fanatical environazis who will resort to their Volvos when the batteries are out of juice.
In THEORY, electric powered cars are a good idea but, in practice, until the supporting technology is available, they are impractical.