Polestar fires shots at Tesla and Volkswagen, promises ‘no compromises’ in Super Bowl ad

Polestar made its Super Bowl debut with a Polestar 2 commercial that aimed to set the electric car newcomer apart from traditional car companies by taking a shot at the entire concept of flashy car commercials — and at Tesla and Volkswagen, specifically.

The 30-second ad, titled “No Compromises” makes a litany of claims for Polestar, promising “No epic voiceovers,” “No empty promises,” and “No hidden agendas.” More pointed claims saw Polestar take a jab at Tesla CEO Elon Musk (“No conquering Mars,”) and Volkswagen (“No dieselgate,”) over soaring shots of the company’s Polestar 2 electric sedan.

Polestar is a relatively new player in the electric car space, tied closely to Volvo and (notably) offering the first car that’s entirely powered by Google’s Android Automotive operating system. But even with the Volvo backing, Polestar is still relatively small compared to the companies that it’s taking shots at in its Super Bowl ad — although presumably it’s hoping that the publicity of the commercial will help change that going forward.

Correction: The Polestar 2 is a sedan, not an SUV. We regret the error.