Electric vehicles such as scooters can have a first operating mode in which energy is supplied by a single electrical energy storage device and a second operating mode in which energy is supplied by multiple electrical energy storage devices. A circuit element can be included in the circuit connecting the electrical energy storage devices to a prime mover such as a traction motor. The circuit element has a first, electrically conductive, state that couples only the single electrical energy storage device to a traction motor and a second, electrically non-conductive, state that couples the multiple electrical energy storage devices to the prime mover. The transition of the circuit element from the first state to the second state can occur by irreversibly fracturing the circuit element upon installation of multiple electrical energy storage devices or by a controller transitioning the circuit element from the first state to the second state.