When Artie R. Williams decided it was time to kick his gas habit, he narrowed his search to three options: the Cadillac Optiq, a Porsche Macan EV and the Polestar 3 — none of which has been on the market for more than a few months.

Tesla wasn’t on the table.

"Nothing against Elon (Musk), but those vehicles have been out for so long,” said Williams, a healthcare marketer in Dallas, from the driver’s seat of his weeks-old Polestar. "Meanwhile, this thing is new, it’s innovative. It had a funky look to it and I knew people were going to be like ‘What are you driving?’ And I like that.”