Polestar shares plummeted by another 14% in the first trading hour on Thursday to a new all time low of $12.21, extending Wednesday’s decline as investors continued to flee the EV maker following a 1-for-30 reverse stock split.
Following a dramatic 2024 — in which it named a new CEO, CFO, and COO — the Geely-backed brand has seen its market value plunge further throughout 2025.
The stock has crashed by 57% over the past three months, with 35% of that decline recorded in the past five trading days alone.
Polestar‘s market capitalization has shrunk to just $1.1 billion — a fraction of the $28 billion valuation it commanded in 2022 when it went public via a special purpose acquisition company.
Reverse Split to Avoid Delisting
The reverse stock split, which took effect earlier this week, consolidates 30 American Depositary Shares into one.
Polestar implemented the change after receiving a deficiency notice from Nasdaq in October for failing to maintain the exchange’s $1 minimum bid price requirement.
In 2024, the premium brand laid off 15% of its global workforce. Job cuts continued this year.
In mid October, the company laid off 100 workers from the Gothenburg R&D center. Two weeks later, another 130 employees were affected at the UK R&D sites.
Widening Losses
In September, Polestar took a $739 million non-cash impairment charge on the Polestar 3 SUV due to higher US tariffs and weak electric vehicle demand, contributing to a wider second-quarter net loss of $1.03 billion.
Polestar reported a net loss of $365 million in Q3 2025, compared to a net loss of $323 million in the same period last year.
The widening loss came despite retail sales totaling an estimated 14,192 cars, up 13% year-over-year from 12,548 units.
Gross margin deteriorated to negative 6.1%, a decline of 4.9 percentage points from negative 1.2% a year earlier.
The EV maker attributed the deterioration to pricing pressure, higher costs linked to tariffs, adverse product mix, inventory adjustments, and residual value guarantee costs in North America, partially offset by carbon credit sales.
China Exit
In China, layoffs took place in the first quarter of the year.
Although Polestar belongs to China’s Geely Holding Group umbrella of more than a dozen brands, the company has effectively retreated from the world’s most competitive EV market after failing to compete with domestic offerings.
Polestar closed its last remaining showroom in China — located at L+ Plaza in Shanghai’s Qiantan district — in October.
The company sold just 69 vehicles in China during the first half of the year, with zero deliveries in April and May. Sales will now be conducted almost entirely online.
Deep Discounts to Clear Inventory
To clear inventory of the 2025 model year, Polestar US is offering up to $18,000 off any 2025 Polestar 3 through its Clean Vehicle Incentive program when buyers finance at 2.99% APR.
With the discount applied, the single-motor, rear-wheel-drive model — which produces 299 horsepower and offers an estimated 350 miles of range — drops to $49,500, valid until January 2, 2026.
Virtual Test Drives Only
Polestar announced last week that customers seeking to experience its upcoming Polestar 5 grand tourer can only do so virtually — through the Gran Turismo 7 video game.
“Virtual test drives of Polestar 5 available from 5 December at selected spaces,” the company said, adding that real-world test drives will not begin until mid-2026.
The Polestar 5 launched at the IAA Show in Munich in September and rivals the Porsche Taycan with a starting price above €119,000. The 871-horsepower grand tourer delivers a 3.2-second sprint to 60 mph and up to 480 km of WLTC range.
