I have gotten this question a few times, most recently from Dave M.:

The E+ Elite leaves off  way before the  Optibike USV begins in terms of quality of components and performance.  Sure, the 1000 watt motor makes the E+ sound attractive- but what they dont tell you is that with a 10ah NiMh battery you only get that power for a few miles at best- the rest of the time you are puttering along with a bike that weights 15lbs more than even the Optibike USV.

The Optibike USV offers 30% more battery capacity (13ah) and the battery will last much longer because we are not beating it to death by trying to run a 1000w motor with such a small battery.  At Optibike, we realize that we could sell more bikes if we offered a 1000 watt motor with our existing battery- but we like to see our bikes last, and a quality bike

As far as components go- the Optibike USV has dual suspension from FOX that combined retails for over $700 while the E+ Elite is outfitted with a $200 Rockshox fork.

Dual disk brakes, standard equipment on the USV, while you are subjected to rim brakes on the Elite.

Yes, E+ Started using the same seat we did in 2007.  Out of hundreds of seats available, they are playing follow the leader- its cool- we upgraded all of our seats to the the WTB Power V, and they are still using last years equipment.