Amid declining stock price, political backlash and investor apprehension, Tesla is currently facing one of the worst crises in its 22-year history. For less established rivals like Lucid and Polestar, however, it’s a prime opportunity to cash in. The two EV companies are offering discounts specifically targeted at Tesla owners, many of whom are looking to distance themselves from Elon Musk and his political views. “Calling all Tesla owners,” reads one such offer from the Sweden-based Polestar, which is urging customers to “make the switch to Polestar” and gain a $5,000 bonus in return.
In recent months, Musk’s growing political prominence has garnered widespread backlash against Tesla. Its stock price has fallen by a staggering 50 percent since hitting a record high in December. Anger towards Musk’s cost-cutting efforts as head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has led to dealership protests, vandalized vehicles and longtime Tesla investors calling for Musk to step down as CEO of the automaker.
It has also allowed Tesla’s competitors to capitalize off of the moment. On Feb. 21, Polestar began trialing a “conquest bonus” that saves Tesla owners $5,000 off of leasing its Polestar 3 model. In addition to a $15,000 clean vehicle incentive, this brings the price of its vehicle down by $20,000 in an offer that will be available until the end of March. Participants don’t have to trade in their Teslas, although they must provide evidence that they currently own or lease a vehicle from the Musk-helmed company.
The program has been a hit. Polestar customer handovers during the last week of February accounted for 60 percent of the company’s monthly handover total, a Polestar spokesperson told Observer. A handover is when a car is handed over to customers—the final stage of buying or leasing a car. “The numbers speak for themselves,” said Jordan Hoffman, the company’s U.S. head of sales, in a LinkedIn post last month, adding that “the response to our Tesla Conquest Offer has been incredible.”
Offering a similar bonus is the California-based Lucid, which is currently running a Tesla trade-in allowance program of $2,000. The incentive began this week and will run through the end of the month, confirmed a Lucid spokesperson to Observer. The new bonus is in addition to a broader, pre-existing conquest offer for customers of Tesla and other car brands like Audi, BMD and Volvo, which provides another $2,000 discount off of leasing or buying one of the company’s 2025 Lucid Air models.
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment from Observer.
In a bid to ease the spooked nerves of customers, employees and shareholders, Musk yesterday (March 20) held an unexpected all-hands Tesla meeting from the company’s Austin headquarters. In addition to laying out his roadmap for the carmaker’s eventual pivots into A.I. and robotics, Musk reassured investors to “hang on to your stock” and derided recent attacks on Tesla vehicles.
“There are times when there are rocky moments,” said Musk during the meeting, which was live streamed on his social media platform X. “But what I’m here to tell you is that the future is incredibly bright and exciting, and we’re going to do things that no one has dreamed of.”
