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 ¡ª 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.¡±