What's the difference of VESC current mode, duty cycle mode and PID speed control mode?

Current control - controls the current to the motor and consequently the torque, it gives torque control (acceleration) but does not limit or try to control the speed.

Duty cycle control - controls the duty cycle (voltage) to the motor and consequently the speed, it gives rough speed control (velocity) but does not control the current (the maximum set motor current will be used to accelerate or decelerate the motor to the commanded duty cycle). Will not increase the duty cycle to maintain the same speed when under heavy load.

PID speed control - controls the ERPM (velocity) of the motor, tries to always make the motor turn at the commanded speed irrespective of the load. Duty cycle and current will change to maintain set ERPM. Requires tuning for best performance.