Connect with us

Published

on

This morning, Polestar shared details of its upcoming 2024 model year Polestar 2 sedan that features upgrades well beyond the cosmetic. In addition to a revamped front end to match its 3 SUV sibling, the 2024 Polestar 2 will arrive with upgrades to its battery and motors, delivering more power and acceleration. Additionally, the newest Polestar 2 will be the brand’s first model to offer a rear-wheel drive configuration, contributing to the EV’s best range to date.

Polestar ($PSNY) is a relatively young EV automaker that just capped off a successful 2022 by surpassing its delivery target of 50,000 EVs. These sales were led by its first all-electric model, the Polestar 2 “fastback.”

The Polestar 2 debuted in three years ago as a 2021 model and has continued to grow in popularity since. It is currently sold in 27 different markets and surpassed 100,000 total units sold in late 2022. We’ve tested multiple variations ourselves including the Long Range Single Motor (FWD) version as well as the 2023 Dual Motor. Most recently, we took the performance BST Edition 270 out around San Francisco and had a blast.

While the Polestar has delivered the 2 in a variety of powertrains and continued to upgrade its technology over-the-air and through additional model years, the automaker has yet to deliver a rear-wheel drive version of any of its EVs.

With today’s announcement, a RWD Polestar 2 will soon be available as a 2024 model and features some of the same design features as the brand new Polestar 3 scheduled to arrive this year as well. Check out the first official images of the 2024 Polestar 2. Notice the new front end?

2024 Polestar 2 sees RWD, 30 miles of additional range

Polestar shared details of its 2024 model year 2 earlier today, showcasing some of the upgrades the all-electric fastback will be packing both inside and out. Unlike many EV refreshes we see each year (a’hem, Nissan LEAF) the latest Polestar 2 received some significant additions, beginning with its front grill.

2024 will bring a new front end to the Polestar 2 that “sees” instead of “breathes.” This design is called “SmartZone” and recently debuted as a feature on the upcoming Polestar 3, representing new design language for the EV brand going forward. SmartZone consists of several forward-facing sensors, a front-facing radar, heating wires, accelerometers, and ultrasonic sensors that combine to operate as a “smart eye” with ready-to-react safety technology.

Moving inward, this model year refresh offers a helluva lot more than sensors on its front end. Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath elaborated:

Typically in the car industry, a facelift introduces superficial visual changes that often destroy the original intention of the car’s design theme. With the new model year Polestar 2, we rather went below the surface and upgraded substantial tech and mechanical components of the electric drivetrain. This is the best Polestar 2 yet, and with the updated front design with the new SmartZone, the best looking one, too.

As Ingelath says, the three latest Polestar 2 variants will each see performance upgrades thanks to new batteries and updated powertrains, foregoing the previous FWD configuration in favor of power from the rear wheels.

As you’ll see in the table below, Polestar’s new motor will offer an increase of power output from 231 hp to 299 hp. With the new RWD configuration, the 2024 Polestar 2’s 0-60 mph acceleration has shaved off 1.1 seconds, down to 5.9 seconds.

The two Dual Motor versions of the Polestar 2 are now rear wheel biased (primary drive source), delivering a completely re-balanced setup and torque-ratio. The result is overall efficiency and higher performance, particularly in terms of horsepower, torque, and overall acceleration.

Future Polestar 2 drivers will soon be able to disengage the front motor entirely when not needed, adding range and efficiency to their drive. By utilizing this new feature, the Dual Motor Polestar 2 can now achieve the same range (up to 270 miles) as the 2023 Single Motor variant.

Lastly, the new RWD Single Motor Polestar 2 gets a slightly larger battery pack, allowing for up to 300 miles of all-electric range (compared to 270 in 2023 FWD version). Check out the full spec comparison below.

Polestar 2 Variant Powertrain Battery
Capacity
Expected EPA Range (Preliminary) Power Torque Acceleration
(0-60 mph)
Max Charging
Speed (DCFC)
Long Range Dual Motor (w/Performance Pack) AWD 78 kWh Up to 270 miles 455 hp (335 kW) 546 lb-ft (740 Nm) 4.1 seconds 155 kW
Long Range Dual Motor AWD 78 kWh Up to 270 miles 421 hp (310 kW) 546 lb-ft (740 Nm) 4.3 seconds 155 kW
Long Range Single Motor RWD 82 kWh Up to 300 miles 299 hp (220 kW) 361 lb-ft (490 Nm) 5.9 seconds 205 kW

Other new features include upgraded 20-inch forged alloy wheels in the Performance Pack that align with the Polestar 3 design, plus Driver Awareness features are now standard. For example, in North America, the Pilot Pack will also now come standard on both Dual Motor versions of the 2024 Polestar 2.

Additionally, any Performance Pack upgrades now automatically include the the Plus Pack as well. That entails a Harman Kardon premium sound system and panoramic glass roof in addition to the Brembo brakes, 20-inch forged alloy wheels, Öhlins Dual Flow Valve dampers, software upgrade, and signature gold seat belts in the Performance Pack.

The 2024 Polestar 2 is available for order now and deliveries to customers are expected to begin later this year.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

U.S. Steel shares rally as Trump approves Nippon takeover with unique government ‘golden share’

Published

on

By

U.S. Steel shares rally as Trump approves Nippon takeover with unique government 'golden share'

U.S. President Donald Trump walks as workers react at U.S. Steel Corporation–Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, U.S., May 30, 2025.

Leah Millis | Reuters

U.S. Steel shares jumped on Monday after President Donald Trump approved its controversial merger with Japan’s Nippon Steel.

U.S. Steel shares were last up about 5% in premarket trading.

Trump issued an executive order on Friday that allowed U.S. Steel and Nippon to finalize their merger so long as they signed a national security agreement with the U.S. government. The companies said they signed the agreement with the government, completing the final hurdle for the deal.

U.S. Steel said the national security agreement includes a golden share for the U.S .government, without specifying what powers the government would wield with its share. Trump said on Thursday that the golden share gives the U.S. president “total control.”

Typically, golden shares allow the holder veto power over important decisions the company makes. Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick told CNBC in May that the golden share will give the U.S. government control of several board seats and ensure production levels aren’t cut.

Trump has avoided calling the transaction a merger, describing the deal instead as a “partnership.” U.S. Steel confirmed in a regulatory filing Monday that the company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Steel North America.

“All regulatory approvals required for the completion of the Transaction have been received,” U.S. Steel said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. “The Transaction remains subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, and is expected to be completed promptly.”

Continue Reading

Environment

Israel vows Iran will ‘pay the price’ as attacks continue for a fourth day

Published

on

By

Israel vows Iran will 'pay the price' as attacks continue for a fourth day

Trails of Iranian ballistic missiles light up the night sky as seen from Gaza City during renewed missile strikes launched by Iran in retaliation against Israel on June 15, 2025.

Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images

Tehran will “pay the price” for its fresh missile onslaught against Israel, the Jewish state’s defense minister warned Monday, as markets braced for a fourth day of ramped-up conflict between the regional powers.

Fire exchanges have continued since Israel’s Friday attack against Iran, with Iranian media reporting Tehran’s latest strikes hit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, home to a major refinery. CNBC has reached out to operator Bazan for comment on the state of operations at the Haifa plant, amid reports of damage to Israel’s energy infrastructure.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said overnight it deployed “innovative methods” that “disrupted the enemy’s multi-layered defense systems, to the point that the Zionist air defense systems engaged in targeting each other,” according to a statement obtained by NBC News.

Israel has widely depended on its highly efficient Iron Dome missile defense system to fend off attacks throughout regional conflicts — but even it can be overwhelmed if a large number of projectiles are fired.

Tankers depicted in the Strait of Hormuz — a strategically important waterway which separates Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Why Iran won’t block the Hormuz Strait oil artery even as war with Israel looms

The fresh hostilities are front-of-mind for investors, who have been weighing the odds of further escalation in the conflict and spillover into the broader oil-rich Middle East, amid concerns over crude supplies and the key shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Oil prices retained the gains of recent days and at 09:19 a.m. London time, Ice Brent futures with August delivery were trading at $73.81 per barrel, down 0.57% from the previous trading session. The Nymex WTI contract with July expiry was at $72.7 per barrel, 0.38% lower.

Elsewhere, however, markets showed initial signs of shrugging off the latest hostilities early on Monday.

Spot prices for key safe-haven asset gold retreated early morning, down 0.42% to $3,417.83 per ounce after nearly notching a two-year-high earlier in the session, with U.S. gold futures also down 0.65% to $ 3,430.5

Tel Aviv share indices pointed higher, with the blue-chip TA-35 up 0.99% and the wider TA-125 up 1.33%.

European stock markets opened higher Monday, meanwhile, and U.S. stock futures were also in the green.

Luis Costa, global head of EM sovereign credit at Citigroup Global Markets, signaled the muted reaction could be, in part, attributed to hopes of a brisk resolution to the conflict.

“So markets are obviously, you know, bearing in mind all potential scenarios. There are obviously potentially very bad scenarios in this story,” he told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Monday. “But there is still a way out in terms of, you know, a faster resolution and bringing Iran to the table, or a short continuation here, of a very surgical and intense strike by the Israeli army.”

U.S. response in focus

As of Monday morning, Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom reported four dead and 87 injured following rocket strikes at four sites in “central Israel,” reporting collapsed buildings, fire and people trapped under debris.

Accusing Tehran of targeting civilians in Israel to prevent the Israel Defense Forces from “continuing the attack that is collapsing its capabilities,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, a close longtime ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a Google-translated social media update that “the residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon.”

The IDF on Sunday said it had in turn “completed a wide-scale wave of strikes on numerous weapon production sites belonging to the Quds Force, the IRGC and the Iranian military, in Tehran.”

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

The U.S.’ response is now in focus, given its close support and arms provision to Israel, the unexpected cancellation of Washington’s latest nuclear deal talks with Iran, and President Donald Trump’s historically hard-hitting stance against Tehran during his first term.

Trump, who has been pushing Iran for a deal over its nuclear program, has weighed in on the conflict, opposing an Israeli proposal to kill Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to NBC News.

Discussions about the conflict are expected to take place during the ongoing meeting of the G7, encapsulating Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., along with the European Union.

CNBC’s Katrina Bishop contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Environment

Tesla on ‘self-driving’ gets stuck on train track and hit by train

Published

on

By

Tesla on 'self-driving' gets stuck on train track and hit by train

A Tesla Model 3 got stuck on a train track and was hit, albeit slightly, by a train in Sinking Spring, PA. The driver claimed it was in “self-driving mode.”

According to the fire alerts in Berks County, a Tesla Model 3 drove around a train track barrier near South Hull Street and Columbia Avenue and got stuck in the tracks.

The driver was able to exit the vehicle, but a train hit the car, reportedly snapping off the side mirror.

The fire commissioner ordered to stop all train traffic as the emergency services worked to get the Model 3 off the tracks using a crane.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Spitlers Garage & Towing, performed the recovery and shared a few pictures on Facebook:

The Tesla driver reportedly claimed that the vehicle was in “self-driving mode” leading up to getting stuck on the train tracks.

Tesla claims that all its vehicles built since 2016 will be capable of unsupervised self-driving with software updates; however, this has yet to occur.

Instead, Tesla has been selling a “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) package for up to $15,000 that requires the driver to constantly supervise the vehicle, with the driver remaining responsible for the car at all times.

Electrek’s Take

There have been instances of Tesla drivers engaging in reckless behavior and then attributing it to the Full Self-Driving (FSD) features.

I’m not saying it’s the case here, but it’s a possibility.

On the other side, I’ve seen FSD try to navigate around construction barriers. It’s possible that it tried to do that in this case, here and then got caught on the tracks.

We would need more data.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Trending