I haven't seen the movie, but...
it seems too conspiracy-minded to me.
http://www.greencar....-electric-car.php
17. Battery costs are believed to have been $20,000 to $30,000 for the electric vehicle models manufactured by automakers during the 1990s test marketing period. While no auto manufacturer has officially stated actual battery costs, back-channel discussions with those involved in these programs indicate these cost figures are realistic. The EV1's T-shaped battery pack surely fell within this range. While it's true that mass production volume can significantly decrease costs for many components, battery cost was so great that volume could not overcome this problem at the time ... it would only result in more profound losses.
http://www.cbsnews.c.../main543605.shtml
Those commercials boldly announced, "The electric car is here."
But General Motors built only about a thousand EV1's, available only in California and Arizona. General Motor's Ken Stewart says few people wanted a car that had to be plugged in every hundred miles or so.
"After ten years and investing over a billion dollars we think its time to move on," says Stewart.
When the EV1 was introduced California was setting tough new standards for cutting air pollution from cars. But since then GM and other automakers have gone to court delaying those standards. With the immediate pressure gone, the EV1 is going too.
I remember when GM was expecting their new FWD Olds/Buick/Cadillac coupes were going to be a "billion dollar car" in the 1980s. They were expecting sales of the order of 50k cars at $20k each. If they really spent $1B over 10 years on the Impact and EV1 programs (and yeah, I know how corporations can move costs around), and they really only made 1k of them, then its easy to see that their heart wasn't in it. If the batteries really were $20-30k, then imagine the cost of all the other expensive bits...
GM hasn't ever really been about cutting-edge engineering. They're about marketing and controlling costs. Compare Harley Earl's dream cars with the stuff they actually sold - it's nothing new.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harley_Earl
I suspect that since CARB changed the rules and didn't require ZEVs, GM felt it could kill the program. They've rarely been sentimental about technology they develop, and their lawyers probably convinced them that it wasn't worth the (small) risk to let the customers keep them. Plus, I'm sure they didn't want Toyota or VW to get one...
My $0.02.
Cheers,
Scott.