[deepGem]

Theft is a major issue and all anti-theft measures will result in increased cost. One possible option is for the battery manufacturers to make the stolen batteries useless by short circuiting them or something like that. So there is total deterrence against theft.

[AdmiralGinge]

I wonder how much it'd cost for them to license a tiny part of the low-frequency radio spectrum? The one for BBC Radio 4 covers most of the country with a single transmitter for example, using this old-school technology you could report your battery's serial number as stolen (with the appropriate authentication) and the company would broadcast a signal to short it out. This would be much harder to defeat than an internet-based solution I think.

[rowanG077]

It's trivial to defeat with a faraday cage.

[AdmiralGinge]

Not if you want it to actually fit in the socket of a car or bike.

[imtringued]

It's not difficult to imagine a battery that is digitally tied to a particular vehicle or key fob. Please don't make dangerous suggestions like short circuiting though. Nobody wants their house to burn down just because someone had a "cute" idea.