Swedish electric performance carmaker Polestar recently announced that it has secured $950 million in external funding from a group of international banks. The funding was announced by Polestar in a press release.
As per Polestar, the funding is being provided by 12 banks. These include BNP Paribas, Natixis, Standard Chartered, BBVA, HSBC, and SPDB, in the form of a three-year loan facility. The funding is expected to provide capital for the Swedish automaker’s next development plans. It also addresses a notable portion of Polestar’s projected financing needs.
The recently announced $950 million funding also adds to the company’s existing cash reserves of about $770 million, Polestar noted in its press release.
Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath welcomed the new funding. “Securing funding from a syndicate of global banks reflects our partners’ support for Polestar’s growth course. Together with Geely’s full financial support and access to innovative technology and engineering expertise, we have reinforced our path towards cash flow break-even targeted in 2025,” Ingenlath said.
Geely CEO Daniel Li was optimistic about Polestar’s new funding as well. “As a strategic partner and direct shareholder in Polestar, Geely will continue to provide full operational and financial support to the iconic performance car brand going forward. We will retain our shares in Polestar and intend to participate in future financing activities when required. Polestar will have full access to technologies and engineering expertise from Geely Holding to realize its global growth targets,” Li said.
Polestar has ambitious goals, such as achieving cash-flow break-even in 2025, an annual volume of over 155,000 vehicles, and a gross margin in the high teens. The company is also looking to hit a double-digit gross profit margin by the end of 2024. To help achieve these targets, the company is implementing a cost-saving efficiency program. This includes a workforce reduction of about 25%, 10% of which was cut since mid-2023, and another 15% following this year. These efforts are expected to help streamline operations and improve the company’s cost structure.
Polestar is currently expanding its product portfolio with two high-margin SUVs, the Polestar 4 and Polestar 3. The Polestar 3, in particular, has successfully completed its test production runs in South Carolina, USA. Prototype production of the company’s next vehicle, the Polestar 5, which would be a high-performance GT, is expected to accelerate this year.
Polestar CEO Ingenlath noted that the automaker is entering a new phase. “This marks a new phase in Polestar’s business. The efforts of recent years are paying off: We improved our cost basis, secured financing, and are ramping up our product offensive. Both SUVs now sharpen the brand, target one of the fastest growing segments in the industry, and position us for strong volume growth and profit margin progression from the second half of 2024,” he said.
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News
Tesla bolsters Referral Program with big change and bigger rewards
The Tesla Referral Program offers benefits to both car buyers and existing Tesla owners, including complimentary Full Self-Driving trials, free Supercharging miles, and discounts on select purchases, such as cars.

Tesla has bolstered its Referral Program by offering more significant benefits for both the referrer and the referee. However, it only applies to certain vehicles in the Tesla lineup.
The Tesla Referral Program offers benefits to both car buyers and existing Tesla owners, including complimentary Full Self-Driving trials, free Supercharging miles, and discounts on select purchases, such as cars.
It changes relatively frequently, and is a great way to encourage people to buy a new car. Tesla is routinely making adjustments to it to stimulate demand, but the referral program likely does not encourage too many sales. Instead, it’s more of a reward for the referrer.
However, the latest adjustments are more substantial for both the buyer and the owner, offering pretty sizeable discounts on the purchase price of a Model S, Model X, or Cybertruck.
There are also discounts for current owners, giving them money off of all five Tesla vehicles.
Here’s the rundown of the new Referral Program awards:
- You’ll earn $250 in Tesla Credits for each person you refer who takes delivery of a new Tesla
- The first 10 people who order a new Model S, Model X, or Cybertruck using your referral link and take delivery will receive $1,000 off their purchase
- When you purchase a new Model S, Model X, or Cybertruck for yourself, you’ll get $1,000 off
- When you purchase a new Model 3 or Model Y, you’ll get $500 off
- Limited to 10 awards
Tesla changed the referral program slightly for those using your code! pic.twitter.com/JBFzKlxsJg
— David Lescatre Jr (@DavidLescatreJr) September 21, 2025
This is a pretty big discount as $1,000 off a Model S, Model X, or Cybertruck is a nice benefit to three of Tesla’s most expensive vehicles.
The additional $500 off a Model 3 or Model Y is also a nice cushion. A similar Referral Program was launched by Tesla last August.
News
Tesla adjusts ‘Actually Smart Summon’ to avoid one common complaint
Tesla is adjusting Summon Standby’s settings slightly to combat the loss of battery life some owners might see with the feature active.

Tesla has adjusted one portion of its “Actually Smart Summon” (ASS) feature to address a common complaint from owners: battery drain.
Teslas have a lot of really awesome features that make them one of the most technologically advanced vehicle models on the market. Things like Sentry Mode, Cabin Overheat Protection, and ASS’s “Summon Standby” features all keep the car on its toes for anything that comes its way.
Tesla finally launches Actually Smart Summon and Dumb Summon
However, the activation of these features contributes to battery drain while the vehicle sits parked. The amount varies, but I personally have lost up to five percent with some of these features active. That’s a lot if you do not utilize home charging.
Tesla is doing what it can to combat the battery drain with each of these features. It has done so with Sentry Mode, as an update last year helped combat battery percentage loss due to the activation of the security feature.
It also recently introduced “Low Power Mode,” which will automatically deactivate some features if your battery falls below 20 percent. This is a great way to combat battery loss if your car is parked somewhere long-term, like an airport, for example.
There is also another feature that is attached to ASS called “Summon Standby.” This keeps the vehicle awake in case the owner needs quick connectivity to the vehicle, allowing them to summon the car to their location swiftly.
But there’s a drawback: keeping this feature activated will drain the battery. By default, the feature is activated when you take your car home, so you have to turn it off manually by accessing the settings menu inside the vehicle.
Turning this off would save you between 2% and 3% overnight, in my experience. With ASS still being a feature that needs some work, I chose to turn Summon Standby off. ASS will still work with the standby mode deactivated; it will just take a few more seconds for your phone to connect to the vehicle.
Tesla is adjusting Summon Standby’s settings slightly to combat the loss of battery life some owners might see with the feature active.
According to Not a Tesla App, Tesla has rolled out two conditions for which Summon Standby will be deactivated automatically:
Overnight Deactivation
Summon Standby will automatically be deactivated from midnight to 6 a.m. every night, which appears to be a data-driven decision made by Tesla based on the feature’s least-used hours.
This automatic pause cannot be turned off, at least for the time being.
Extended Parking Deactivation
If your Tesla is parked for over 24 hours, Summon Standby will also be deactivated automatically.
This is a great way to save battery life for those who are on vacation or are at home for several days in a row. This works similarly to the Low-Power Mode we talked about earlier in this article.
Elon Musk
Neuralink is planning to launch US trials translating thoughts into text
The trial could help pave the way for people with speech impairments to communicate more quickly and efficiently.

Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company, is reportedly planning to start a US clinical trial in October to use its technology to translate thoughts directly into text.
The trial was approved by the FDA under an investigational device exemption, and it could help pave the way for people with speech impairments to communicate more quickly and efficiently.
Thought-to-text technology
The upcoming trial aims to read speech directly from the brain, enabling participants to transmit words without moving their mouths or using a keyboard, as noted in a report from Bloomberg News.
DJ Seo, Neuralink’s president, told an audience at the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies in Seoul that the company hopes to demonstrate communication with large language model AI platforms “at the speed of thought,” potentially faster than spoken speech.
“We think that it’s actually possible to demonstrate abilities to speak to the latest AI model, or LLM models, at the speed of thought, even faster than how you’re speaking, and being able to potentially get that information back through your AirPods, effectively closing the loop,” Seo stated.
Production ambitions
Ultimately, Seo described the trial as a stepping stone toward broader human enhancement and consumer-facing applications, beyond the company’s initial focus on medical conditions like ALS, stroke, blindness, and Parkinson’s disease.
While initial implants will focus on patients with severe speech impairments, Neuralink plans to eventually expand to healthy individuals by 2030. The company aims to scale to 20,000 implants per year by 2031.
“We’re currently envisioning a world where, in about 3 to 4 years, there will be someone who’s otherwise healthy who’s going to get a Neuralink. If you’re imagining saying something, we would be able to pick that up,” the executive noted.
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