Tesla Alternative Offers Incentives for Michigan EV Drivers

Plenty of controversy surrounds Tesla, its vehicles, and its CEO, Elon Musk. Many have begun to boycott, protest, and vandalize anything branded with a Tesla logo.

Of course, because of the boycotts and vandalism, many Tesla owners find themselves in the crosshairs, whether they support Musk's political ventures or not. Many of these Tesla owners bought their electric vehicles to lessen their carbon footprint and to help spurn the evolution away from gas-powered vehicles to electric.

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Still, the quality of the vehicle could be another reason Tesla owners might be shying away. It was announced today that nearly 50k Cybertrucks were recalled, which is far from the first recall for that particular model.

Because many EV purchasers took advantage of incentives to buy their vehicles of the future, it's not surprising that Tesla competitors would incentivize buyers to leave the company with some bonus perks.

One such company is Polestar, a luxury EV producer. According to the Detroit Free Press, Polestar is offering between $5,000-$20,000 for Tesla owners to switch to their Polestar 3 model. To get the full $20k, customers would combine the Polestar Conquest Program (leaving Tesla) and a base incentive called the Polestar Clean Vehicle Noncash Incentive.

It is worth noting that trading in a Tesla at a Polestar dealership is not necessary to receive the incentives. It is also worth noting that Polestar is owned by Geely, a Chinese automaker that also owns Volvo. Polestar vehicles are currently manufactured in China, Europe and South Carolina.

As the Free Press reports, the incentive subtracts the total incentive, based on eligibility, from the lease total.

This incentive began in February and Polestar has already seen increased sales. Still, Polestar is a significantly smaller company compared to Tesla. Polestar sold less than 50k vehicles last year. Tesla sold 1.8 million.

Polestar opened its first Michigan dealership in Royal Oak in 2023. Overall, Michigan is still lagging a bit behind in the EV market. According to Bridge Michigan, the state's EV ownership rate is just 0.63% while EVs only account for 3.2% of new car purchases, both of which are well below national averages.