Will Volvo's POLESTAR be the undoing of Tesla?

The POlestar 1 (pictured) will be followed by the Polestar 2 aimed at the heart of Tesla’s Model 3

Will the arrival of Volvo’s POLESTAR Performance Brand leave Tesla behind as the Geely-owned brand delivers high performance electric cars?

The arrival of the Polestar 1 as a production take on Volvo’s Concept Coupe is the first salvo from Geely-owned Volvo and Polestar aimed directly at the heart of Tesla.

Despite a pretty steep price of around £130,000, the Polestar 1 promises to be a stunning halo car for the new Polestar Brand, but it’s what follows which could make the big impact.

Polestar are promising there are two more Polestar cars in the pipeline, and they will be battery electric vehicles (BEVs) – the Polestar 2 and Polestar 3.

The Polestar 3 is an electric SUV – right on the Zeitgeist – but it’s perhaps the Polestar 2 – an electric saloon car aimed right at the heart of the Tesla Model 3 – which could be Tesla’s undoing.

Big problems for Tesla

The first production Tesla Model 3 EV – but there haven’t been many made since

With huge production problems for the Model 3, even the glitzy announcement of a mad new Tesla Roadster and an electric truck can’t divert attention from Tesla’s woes.

The production nightmare at Tesla with the Model 3 sees Elon Musk’s baby facing huge problems Tesla seems, currently, incapable of remedying.

The few Model 3 cars which have surfaced have been beset with problems, and although the glitz of the new Roadster and Truck launch will elicit much needed cash in the form of deposits, it’s hard to see how Tesla can find a way to produce either car in any sort of sensible timeframe.

With cash burn at Tesla running at around $1 billion a quarter, it’s hard to see how even Tesla evangelists can keep on pumping cash in to a company which has never turned a profit, and has just added to its need for yet more cash with the Roadster and Truck.

Polestar is well-placed to usurp Tesla

By contrast, Volvo has already spent around £10 billion from Geely’s very deep pockets, but has turned their business around in the process with cars like the new XC90 and XC60 and is now able to turn its attention to burying Tesla.

With extensive production facilities in China – the world’s most important EV market – an established network of Volvo Dealers round the world which can provide support and servicing for Polestar, and a sales model very similar in many ways to Tesla’s, Volvo’s Polestar seems perfectly positioned to make Tesla suffer.

If Tesla can sort out the quality and production problems with the Model 3 quickly, it will have the advantage, but with the Polestar 2 due to launch in 2019, Tesla could have a proper existential crisis on its hands.