The Tesla batteries are lithium-ion and it has regenerative braking, I don't know much about the Leaf as it does not appeal. Charging can be done at home using either the normal American 110 volts, or alternatively it is possible to have a 240 volt line installed, which much reduces charging times.
Tesla are installing charging stations along major trunk roads and they will be able to 'supercharge' the cars by installing 150 miles of range (in the 85 kWh models) in 30-minutes!
The batteries are warranted for 8-years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first, and a set of new batteries can be purchased for $10/12k when you buy the car.
It's a full 5-seater and it can have 2-child seats installed facing backwards, the touchscreen inside for the driver is 17" - as you might have gathered I was impressed (the 85 kWh model does 0-60 mph is 4.4 secs).
In California it is possible to get a Government subsidy of $10k when you buy one and if I lived there I would certainly consider one. Here I don't need such a large car and thus, I'm not in the market for one...
