Polestar is Volvo’s performance arm, an electric version of what AMG is to Mercedes or what Gazoo Racing is to Toyota. And like AMG and GR, Polestar tends to mirror its parents, in this case having a borderline-unreasonable obsession with trying to save us from ourselves.
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That took the form on Wednesday of an announcement that by 2030 Polestar will produce a “truly climate neutral car,” or a car that is not only electric but is also built without adding emissions to the atmosphere as well.
And “climate neutral,” in this case, appears to be an attempt by Polestar to draw a contrast with “carbon neutral,” which only refers to carbon and is not inclusive of other greenhouse gases emitted during production.
Polestar’s Head of Sustainability, Fredrika Klarén, says: “We’re electric, so we don’t have to worry about combustion engines producing toxic emissions – but that doesn’t mean our job is done. We will now work to eradicate all emissions stemming from production of our vehicles. Now is a historic and exciting time for car manufacturers, an opportunity to seize the moment, do better and dare to build the dream of climate-neutral, circular and beautiful cars.”
This is good, and, if it helps goad other automakers into making similar moves, that is also good. And Polestar remains, quite easily, the best alternative if you want to buy an EV and don’t want to align yourself with Elon Musk and his crew of chucklefucks.
Polestar just remains to me, a bit of a mystery, as it doesn’t sell a whole lot of cars and is seemingly not even doing its do-goodism as a cheap marketing ploy. Even further, Polestar’s CEO Thomas Ingenlath took a shot at carbon offsetting in the news release, a practice which Tesla makes billions from thanks to the sale of credits to automakers that don’t meet regulatory requirements.
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“Offsetting is a cop-out,” Ingenlath said.
Polestar is a bit unhinged but in a far more lovable way than Tesla. May Polestar live forever.
