Musk’s politics offer a sales opportunity for rival Polestar

The EV manufacturer was spun out of Volvo Car by the Swedish carmaker and its Chinese parent Geely Holding Group four years ago

Author of the article:

Bloomberg News

Rafaela Lindeberg and Stefan Nicola

Published Jan 22, 2025  •  2 minute read

Polestar expects to increase retail sales by as much as 35 per cent annually over the next three years by moving to a more traditional dealership model and rolling out new vehicles including a compact sport utility. Photo by Andrew McCredie/Polestar/Postmedia files

The increasingly active role Elon Musk is playing in global politics is turning off many Tesla Inc. customers and creating an opening for Polestar, the rival electric vehicle maker’s chief executive said.

Article content

Article content

“We get a lot of people writing that they don’t like all this,” Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller told Bloomberg News in an interview. “It’s important to listen closely to what they say. And I can tell you, a lot of people have very, very negative sentiment.”

Article content

The executive said he’s told salespeople to target disgruntled Tesla owners for potential business.

Polestar could use the help that Lohscheller hopes the company will get from Musk asserting himself in Washington, Berlin and Westminster. The maker of premium electric vehicles is coming off another year of disappointing sales that were well short of initial projections made in 2021, when it struck a deal to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Lohscheller, 56, called Musk a “very successful businessman” and said he’s “done incredible things with Tesla.” He didn’t mince words, however, about Musk’s emphatic support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

“For Germany, somebody outside of Germany endorsing right-wing political parties is a big thing,” said Lohscheller, who was born in Bocholt, North Rhine-Westphalia. “You want to know what I think about it? I think it’s totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. You just don’t do that. This is pure arrogance, and these things will not work.”

Musk didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Tesla’s vehicle deliveries declined for the first time in over a decade last year.

Article content

Polestar was spun out of Volvo Car by the Swedish carmaker and its Chinese parent Geely Holding Group four years ago. Its United States-listed shares have plummeted 92 per cent since the company’s market debut in June 2022. Tesla’s stock has soared 73 per cent in that span.

Recommended from Editorial

1. 

   Tesla slides, space stocks soar after Trump's barrage of orders

2. 

   American billionaires gained US$1.5 trillion during Biden's term

3. 

   We need our own ‘DOGE’ to unleash the Canadian economy

Lohscheller, a former head of German carmaker Opel, expects Polestar to increase retail sales by as much as 35 per cent annually over the next three years by moving to a more traditional dealership model and rolling out new vehicles including a compact sport utility. He took over as CEO in October.

—With assistance from Anna Edwards, Jamie Nimmo and Craig Trudell.

Bloomberg.com

Article content