General Motors Races Tesla to Build a Million-Mile Battery

Car companies have a fondness for round numbers.

Five years ago, for example, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) set itself the goal of developing an electric car battery that lasts 1 million miles before it needs to be replaced, while General Motors (NYSE: GM) focused on getting its battery cost down below $100 per kilowatt-hour. To date, Tesla has been considered the company most likely to reach both of those goals first.

But now, GM wants to give Tesla a run for its money.