One electric carmaker is steering clear of ego and fighting for real change

In case you haven’t noticed, the age of electric vehicles is upon us. You’re likely seeing more EVs on the road every day, and you might even be a tad envious of your EV-owning friends who’ll never have to pump gas again. If you’re not yet fantasizing about living the electric lifestyle or all the cool things you could cram into a frunk, chances are you soon will be — and most EV companies are banking on it.

That said, it’s no huge surprise that some of the messaging being touted by EV companies can be confusing, and even misleading in terms of environmental impact. It’s a competitive industry, after all. But amidst the haze of all the marketing speak and promises, there’s one electric carmaker that’s really trying to stand apart from the pack.

While most EV companies are selling you on all the nice things they’re going to do for you — help you save the planet, make you feel like a rockstar, blah, blah, blah —  electric performance car brand Polestar wants you to know what it’s not going to do in order to earn your loyalty. For starters, Polestar says it’s not going to trick you with greenwashing tactics and it has no interest in conquering Mars. On the flipside, the company does want you to know that it’s serious about leading the EV industry toward a climate-neutral future. Apparently, people are digging Polestar’s straight-up approach, too. When an ad for the Polestar 2 sedan ran during the biggest football event of the year, it was the most popular ad of the game.

But, being the discerning future EV driver that you are, you might wonder if Polestar’s promise to not make promises is yet another marketing tactic — and we wouldn’t blame you. If you’re at all skeptical, the Polestar site goes into fine detail about its efforts — from supply-chain traceability to sustainability labeling and transparency — and it’s definitely worth a look. Here’s the gist of how Polestar aims to make practical, ego-free change the new status quo.

No emissions

Polestar entered the EV scene in 2019 with its first performance hybrid, the Polestar 1, and then quickly moved on to the Polestar 2, a 100-percent electric sedan with up to 270 miles of range. From here on out, Polestar claims its lineup will be all-electric.

No greenwashing

Polestar has no interest in leading you on to believe you’re saving the world all by yourself by driving an EV — but they do want you to know the facts about your purchase. That said, each Polestar 2 comes with a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that reveals the car's carbon footprint from production to its end of life.

No conquering Mars

Polestar is more interested in saving the planet we already live on. Polestar’s big-picture goal is to create the world’s first completely climate-neutral car by 2030. The plan, titled Polestar 0, aims to adopt fully carbon-neutral, recycled, and responsibly mined materials.

No dirty secrets

Polestar is upfront in admitting that their EVs, along with all other EVs, aren’t yet carbon neutral. But Polestar is completely transparent about its production methods and progress toward a climate-neutral future. They want to set a truth standard that other EV makers will have to follow in order to compete.

No compromises

In addition to Polestar’s aggressive climate-neutrality goals, the cars are pretty darn slick. Polestar likes to say it’s a design brand making cars and, in addition to perks like a Harman Kardon sound system and panoramic glass roof, the Polestar 2 is the first car to be fully powered by Google. These EVs look good — and it seems they have potential to do good.

Learn about Polestar’s mission and commitment to giving the world its first completely climate-neutral car by 2030.