Is the Polestar 1 a muscle car?
It’s a Swedish hot rod with 619 horsepower But there’s more to the Polestar 1’s powertrain than that. Its twin electric motors send more than 100 horsepower to the rear wheels, providing through-the-road all-wheel drive. Put it all together and you get 619 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. In terms of on-road performance, both accelerate quite handily, with the Polestar offering far more power in its base configuration: 489 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque to be exact, compared to 402 hp and 568 lb-ft on the Volvo.
How does the Polestar 1 compare to Tesla?
Polestar powertrains consistently pull ahead in performance. While Tesla motors tend to have the edge in range, both models are excellent for commuting and vacations alike. Despite being a relatively new company, Polestar models are engineered to have excellent lifespans similar to Tesla models. This is a highly unprofitable business heading into a hypercompetitive moment in the automotive space, where electric vehicles keep losing market share. Its balance sheet is in terrible shape, and it keeps burning cash. Polestar stock is likely to fall lower and lower from here.As a fully electric brand, Polestar is suffering from the slow uptake of EVs in the US, which has cut tax credits for battery powered vehicles. The US now represents just 8% of its sales, down from 16% a year ago.Michael Lohscheller, Polestar CEO, says: “We are making progress in our commercial transformation, expanding our dealer network and opening retail locations across our 28 markets, resulting in revenue growth of 49% in the first nine months of 2025.