It sounds like a raw deal, but Tesla promises customers that the artificially limited Model S will reap unexpected benefits from the battery swap -- that is, improved acceleration and a higher top speed.

ENGADGET

We are confident that our upcoming Mexican 1000 capabilities demonstration will generate future battery sponsorship to allow the ability to 'hot swap' multiple battery packs andcomplete entire races in the near future.

ENGADGET: SRI EV1 brings all-electric racing to the Mexican 1000 rally (video)

Power for the motors is stored in 138, 3.3v 180ah China Aviation Lithium Batteries (CALB) in two "hot swap" battery packs each containing 69 cells.

ENGADGET: SRI EV1 brings all-electric racing to the Mexican 1000 rally (video)

As with the Glo, it's possible to snap the back of the device off, but unlike that larger reader, there's another level underneath that needs to be unscrewed if you want to swap out the battery.

ENGADGET: Kobo Mini review: does the world need a smaller e-reader?

Then again, Toshiba was late to the netbook market and served up one of the best minis of all time, and few other tablets let you swap out the battery, so we'll just have to reserve judgment until we get one of these bad boys in to review.

ENGADGET: Toshiba Thrive tablet with Android 3.1 ships in July, starts at $429

Another, proposed by former software executive Shai Agassi, entails electric filling stations at which car owners would make a quick swap of a depleted battery for a charged battery.

FORBES: A Light Bulb Goes On

Better Place operates battery switch station that lets drivers who subscribe to its system swap out depleted batteries for fresh ones.

FORBES: Better Place To Bring Electric Taxi Service To California in 2013