Ferrari Luce EV backlash explodes online and in the stock market as fans, critics, and the ex-chairman turn on the $640,000 electric grand tourer
Ferrari expected a celebration. Instead, it got a crisis. The Italian carmaker unveiled the Luce, its first fully electric vehicle and the most expensive car in its history, to an overwhelmingly negative reception. The Ferrari Luce EV backlash hit fast and hard. Fans mocked the four-door, five-seat grand tourer on social media, comparing its design to an old fridge. Moreover, Ferrari shares fell around 7 percent within 24 hours of the reveal, wiping billions from the company’s market value in one of its worst single-day stock drops ever.
The car carries a price tag of around $640,000. Former Apple design chief Jony Ive and designer Marc Newson created it. Ferrari presented the launch as a major turning point for its future. However, the public disagreed loudly and immediately. Therefore, what the company framed as progress, many loyal fans viewed as betrayal.
The sharpest criticism came from an unexpected source. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s former chairman, publicly condemned the direction. He said Ferrari was “risking the destruction of a myth” by moving toward fully electric vehicles. Furthermore, he suggested the company remove the iconic Prancing Horse badge from the Luce entirely. “I’m very, very sorry. I hope at least they remove the prancing horse logo from that car,” he said. Therefore, the criticism did not just come from outsiders — it came from someone who built the brand’s modern identity.
Ferrari built its reputation on roaring V8 and V12 combustion engines. Many longtime fans argue the Luce abandons that soul completely. Current CEO Benedetto Vigna, however, says electrification is unavoidable as the luxury auto industry shifts toward cleaner technologies.
The Luce does have numbers worth noting. It produces over 1,000 horsepower and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in about 2.5 seconds. Still, for many Ferrari purists, performance figures alone cannot replace the sound, the fury, and the identity they fell in love with. Finally, Jony Ive’s post-Apple track record adds another uncomfortable footnote — his previous high-profile venture, the Humane AI Pin, struggled commercially before parts of the business sold to HP.
