EV firm’s $20K discount for Tesla owners

A major EV maker is offering a $20,000 discount for Tesla owners to abandon Elon Musk’s company.

In a very cheeky dig at Elon Musk, EV company Polestar is offering a $20,000 discount for Tesla owners to swap in their vehicle for its new car.

US Tesla owners can enjoy up to $20,000 towards the lease of a new Polestar 3 when they combine the $5,000 Polestar Conquest Bonus and the $15,000 Polestar Clean Vehicle Incentive for the rest of this month under the Tesla Conquest Offer.

According to Polestar US Head of Sales Jordan Hofmann the numbers “speak for themselves”.

“This week saw some of the highest order days for Polestar 3...The excitement is real, the momentum is growing, and as I always say - we’re just getting started!,” he wrote on a Linkedin post.

Mr Musk is currently facing backlash from his recent political actions from protesters who stormed Tesla retailers in the US in an aim to impact the millionaire financially.

“Elon’s DOGE is really hitting some people in a way they are now willing to abandon their Teslas and will be looking into other options,” one LinkedIn user commented on Hofmann’s post.

People participate in a "TeslaTakedown" protest against Elon Musk outside of a Tesla dealership in Irvine, California, March 1, 2025. Picture: Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

Mr Musk’s actions are also corroding his customer base in Australia.

James, 57, a previous Tesla owner from Sydney said he chose to switch to a Polestar, even without the discount, because of Mr Musk’s role in DOGE.

“I actually bought an electric vehicle in the first place because I was concerned about (0:51) climate change…and at the time, Elon was a bit of a hero of that movement,” he said to news.com.au.

“But of course, his true colours have been revealed since then.”

James, who did not want his last name to be recorded as he did not want to “p**s off the richest man in the world” said he now considers Mr Musk to be “a very unethical person”.

“It’s actually embarrassing to own a car where his name is so closely associated with the vehicle…I just cannot go with Tesla anymore, just because of Elon, because of his political actions.”

James said he found decisions such as cutting international aid to be “morally reprehensible”.

“This is the richest man in the world taking actions which are going to result in the deaths of some of the poorest people in the world,” he said.

“It was a flat no to Tesla.”

He said he found it “unsurprising” that many of Tesla’s previous customers who often chose the vehicle due to their “views on social justice” and “climate change” have now abandoned the company due to Mr Musk’s new “direction”.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Picture: Tierney L CROSS / AFP

Polestar Australia Managing Director Scott Maynard said they are seeing a “few more Tesla customers through our doors”, but “it would be impossible for us to speculate on whether that’s what’s driving them to us”.

However, Mr Maynard said individual political drives can negatively impact business, and Polestar intends to “remain out of that kind of debate”.

“If business management and leadership ties itself to a political cause, well then, of course the buying public are going to judge that business for an additional reason over and above its product,” he said to news.com.au.

“And that can be good or bad depending on the cause you attach your business to.”

Mr Maynard sees a bigger trend in the business sector that will be driven by responsible consumption, as buyers consider more than just the product.

“We’re becoming a far more socially aware society and poor business practice, whether it’s through diversity and inclusion, whether it’s through moral and ethical business practice, is now becoming far more visible to consumers,” he said.

Scott Maynard, Managing director of Polestar Australia 26/06/2024 Ph. Andrea Francolini

Polestar also remains committed to DEI policies, something that Mr Musk has taken a hard line stance against.

“It always works to the betterment of our brand and our business to pursue those goals and have those standards,” Mr Maynard said in reference to diversity policies.

“I think we end up with a more rounded business that’s better able to represent itself to the cross-section of Australian consumers.”

He urged consumers purchasing an electronic vehicle to remember that “there is more to that choice than strictly the product, there is the business that backs that product”.

“The businesses that do their business in the moral and ethical way are the smart choice,” Mr Maynard said.

“We meet customers every day that are choosing our brand because of its position on sustainability, …and its moral and ethical position on business and how we serve consumers in Australia, of course, as well as its competitive product.”