February 15, 2022: -Electric vehicle start-up Polestar, which is expected to go public this year, used its first-ever Super Bowl ad to take indirect shots at its competitors, including Tesla and Volkswagen.

The 30-second spot, known as “No Compromises,” is simple and to the point. It features shots of the company’s Polestar 2 electric vehicle with “No,” followed by words and phrases directed at different traditional Super Bowl commercials and car companies.

Words following “No” in the ad range from general terms like “epic voiceovers” and “dirty secrets” to “dieselgate,” referring to a former diesel emissions scandal with Volkswagen and “conquering Mars” – a critique on Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, which is planning to land humans on Mars by 2026.

The commercial ends at “No. 2” and then “Polestar 2,” the company’s all-electric performance car.

“The Super Bowl is an iconic event, and It is exciting to bring Polestar’s message to like a wide audience,” Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said in a statement. “We are a young and ambitious brand. We believed in ‘no compromises’ for our design language, sustainability efforts, and the performance of our cars and wanted to share that philosophy with this ad. This is the perfect place further to raise awareness of our brand in the US and beyond.”

Polestar is controlled by Volvo Car AB and its owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. In September, the company is announcing a deal to go public during the first half of this year, which merges with a U.S.-listed blank-check firm backed by billionaire Alec Gores and investment bank Guggenheim Partners at an enterprise value of $20 billion.