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Hertz expands EV offerings with new Polestar partnership for 65,000 vehicles

Credit: Polestar

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Update to final paragraph updating offerings at 12:17 pm EST.

Hertz Corporation announced today it had reached and announced a new global partnership with Sweden’s Polestar to purchase up to 65,000 vehicles over five years.

Hertz will now offer the Polestar 2 after bringing on Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y into its rental fleet late in 2021.

“We are excited to partner with Polestar and look forward to introducing their premium EV products into our retail and rideshare fleets,” Stephen Scherr, CEO of Hertz, said. “Today’s partnership with Polestar further builds on our ambition to become a leading participant in the modern mobility ecosystem and doing so as an environmentally-forward company. By working with EV industry leaders like Polestar, we can help accelerate the adoption of electrification while providing renters, corporate customers, and rideshare partners a premium EV product, exceptional experience, and lower carbon footprint.”

Hertz said it will purchase up to 65,000 vehicles that will be provided over a five-year span, with initial availability expected to begin in Spring 2022.

After announcing the purchase of 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles in October, Hertz became the rental entity with the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world. Hertz said the Polestar fleet will be available to business and leisure customers, and also its rideshare drivers “to further accelerate electrification.”

“Polestar is committed to accelerating the move to electric mobility with a fascinating and innovative product portfolio,” Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said. “We are delighted that Hertz has chosen Polestar as a strategic partner on their road to electrification. The partnership with a global pioneer like Hertz will bring the amazing experience of driving an electric car to a wider audience, satisfying a broad variety of our mutual customers’ short- and longer-term mobility requirements. For many of them, it may be the first time they have driven an EV, and it will be a Polestar.”

Polestar 2 receives top marks in crash safety tests, living up to its Volvo roots

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For now, only the Polestar 2 will be a part of the deal, Hertz said. “Polestar 2 brings avant-garde Scandinavian design and leading in-car technology. Polestar 2 includes the world’s first infotainment system powered by Android Automotive OS with Google built-in for the premium EV segment, in a driver-oriented, dynamic driving package,” Hertz described in their press release announcing the partnership.

In late March, Polestar announced the introduction of the Polestar 2’s Single Motor trim level to the United States market. The EPA rates the Polestar 2 Single Motor vehicle with 270 miles of range. It packs an identical battery pack as the Dual Motor trim, a 78-kWh battery pack with 231 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. The powertrain is front-wheel-drive, and thanks to its capability to charge at 150 kWh with a DC fast charger, the Polestar 2 can gain 80 percent charge in just 40 minutes.

Hertz told Teslarati initial orders will be model year 2022’s for the international division, with 2023 Polestar 2s in the United States. Other models could be included in the future, the company told us.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Elon Musk’s Grokipedia surges to 5.6M articles, almost 79% of English Wikipedia

The explosive growth marks a major milestone for the AI-powered online encyclopedia, which was launched by Elon Musk’s xAI just months ago.

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UK Government, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Elon Musk’s Grokipedia has grown to an impressive 5,615,201 articles as of today, closing in on 79% of the English Wikipedia’s current total of 7,119,376 articles. 

The explosive growth marks a major milestone for the AI-powered online encyclopedia, which was launched by Elon Musk’s xAI just months ago. Needless to say, it would only be a matter of time before Grokipedia exceeds English Wikipedia in sheer volume.

Grokipedia’s rapid growth

xAI’s vision for Grokipedia emphasizes neutrality, while Grok’s reasoning capabilities allow for fast drafting and fact-checking. When Elon Musk announced the initiative in late September 2025, he noted that Grokipedia would be an improvement to Wikipedia because it would be designed to avoid bias. 

At the time, Musk noted that Grokipedia “is a necessary step towards the xAI goal of understanding the Universe.”

Grokipedia was launched in late October, and while xAI was careful to list it only as Version 0.1 at the time, the online encyclopedia immediately earned praise. Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger highlighted the project’s innovative approach, noting how it leverages AI to fill knowledge gaps and enable rapid updates. Netizens also observed how Grokipedia tends to present articles in a more objective manner compared to Wikipedia, which is edited by humans.

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Elon Musk’s ambitious plans

With 5,615,201 total articles, Grokipedia has now grown to almost 79% of English Wikipedia’s article base. This is incredibly quick, though Grokipedia remains text-only for now. xAI, for its part, has now updated the online encyclopedia’s iteration to v0.2. 

Elon Musk has shared bold ideas for Grokipedia, including sending a record of the entire knowledge base to space as part of xAI’s mission to preserve and expand human understanding. At some point, Musk stated that Grokipedia will be renamed to Encyclopedia Galactica, and it will be sent to the cosmos

“When Grokipedia is good enough (long way to go), we will change the name to Encyclopedia Galactica. It will be an open source distillation of all knowledge, including audio, images and video. Join xAI to help build the sci-fi version of the Library of Alexandria!” Musk wrote, adding in a later post that “Copies will be etched in stone and sent to the Moon, Mars and beyond. This time, it will not be lost.”

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Tesla Model 3 becomes Netherlands’ best-selling used EV in 2025

More than one in ten second-hand electric cars sold in the country last year was a Tesla Model 3.

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Credit: Tesla Asia/Twitter

The Tesla Model 3 became the most popular used electric car in the Netherlands in 2025, cementing its dominance well beyond the country’s new-car market. 

After years at the top of Dutch EV sales charts, the Model 3 now leads the country’s second-hand EV market by a wide margin, as record used-car purchases pushed electric vehicles further into the mainstream.

Model 3 takes a commanding lead

The Netherlands recorded more than 2.1 million used car sales last year, the highest level on record. Of those, roughly 4.8%, or about 102,000 vehicles, were electric. Within that growing segment, the Tesla Model 3 stood far ahead of its competitors.

In 2025 alone, 11,338 used Model 3s changed hands, giving the car an 11.1% share of the country’s entire used EV market. That means more than one in ten second-hand electric cars sold in the country last year was a Tesla Model 3, Auto Week Netherlands reported. The scale of its lead is striking: the gap between the Model 3 and the second-place finisher, the Volkswagen ID3, is more than 6,700 vehicles.

Rivals trail as residual values shape rankings

The Volkswagen ID.3 ranked a distant second, with 4,595 used units sold and a 4.5% market share. Close behind was the Audi e-tron, which placed third with 4,236 registrations. As noted by Auto Week Netherlands, relatively low residual values likely boosted the e-tron’s appeal in the used market, despite its higher original price.

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Other strong performers included the Kia Niro, the Tesla Model Y, and the Hyundai Kona, highlighting continued demand for compact and midsize electric vehicles with proven range and reliability. No other model, however, came close to matching the Model 3’s scale or market presence.

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Tesla Model Y Standard Long Range RWD launches in Europe

The update was announced by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on its official social media account on X.

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

Tesla has expanded the Model Y lineup in Europe with the introduction of the Standard Long Range RWD variant, which offers an impressive 657 km of WLTP range. 

The update was announced by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on its official social media account on X.

Model Y Standard Long Range RWD Details

Tesla Europe & Middle East highlighted some of the Model Y Standard Long Range RWD’s most notable specs, from its 657 km of WLTP range to its 2,118 liters of cargo volume. More importantly, Tesla also noted that the newly released variant only consumes 12.7 kWh per 100 km, making it the most efficient Model Y to date. 

The Model Y Standard provides a lower entry point for consumers who wish to enter the Tesla ecosystem at the lowest possible price. While the Model 3 Standard is still more affordable, some consumers might prefer the Model Y Standard due to its larger size and crossover form factor. The fact that the Model Y Standard is equipped with Tesla’s AI4 computer also makes it ready for FSD’s eventual rollout to the region. 

Top Gear’s Model Y Standard review

Top Gear‘s recent review of the Tesla Model Y Standard highlighted some of the vehicle’s most notable features, such as its impressive real-world range, stellar infotainment system, and spacious interior. As per the publication, the Model Y Standard still retains a lot of what makes Tesla’s vehicles well-rounded, even if it’s been equipped with a simplified interior.

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Top Gear compared the Model Y Standard to its rivals in the same segment. “The introduction of the Standard trim brings the Model Y in line with the entry price of most of its closest competition. In fact, it’s actually cheaper than a Peugeot e-3008 and costs £5k less than an entry-level Audi Q4 e-tron. It also makes the Ford Mustang Mach-E look a little short with its higher entry price and worse range,” the publication wrote. 

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