Ferrari presented its first fully electric vehicle, the Luce, in Rome on Monday, marking a historic shift for the Maranello-based manufacturer. Priced at €550,000, it is among the most expensive EVs on the market. But the reception has been anything but celebratory: social media users compared the car to a Nissan Leaf or a budget Toyota, and Ferrari's shares slid as much as 7.8% in Milan trading.
The Luce—Italian for 'light'—was designed in collaboration with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and his LoveFrom collective. Its smooth, glassy exterior represents a sharp departure from Ferrari's traditionally muscular silhouette. Yet the internet was quick to judge. 'The new Ferrari Luce looks less like a supercar and more like a budget Nissan or Toyota,' ran one widely shared post.
Political backlash and industrial critique
The criticism was not limited to anonymous accounts. Carlo Calenda, a former Italian industry minister who once worked at Ferrari, called the Luce 'an aesthetic and technological insult to anyone who loves Ferrari.' He used the moment to deliver a broader verdict on the record of Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who also chairs the Agnelli family's holding company Exor.
Calenda argued that Elkann has presided over the steady dismantling of Italy's industrial heritage. Auto parts maker Magneti Marelli was sold to private equity and is now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Robotics unit Comau was divested in 2024, and truck maker Iveco is being demerged. Fiat itself, as an autonomous Italian car brand, effectively ceased to exist when Fiat Chrysler merged into Stellantis in 2021. Exor is also in advanced talks to sell La Repubblica and La Stampa, two of Italy's most prominent newspapers. On the track, Ferrari's Formula One team has not won a world championship of any kind since 2008.
Elkann, for his part, presented the Luce to Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale on Tuesday, a gesture that underscored the car's national significance. But the political and industrial critique has added a layer of tension to the launch.
Performance and engineering
Despite the aesthetic controversy, the Luce delivers on performance. Its four electric motors—one per wheel—produce more than 1,000 horsepower, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and reaching a top speed of over 310 km/h. The car seats five and offers a 600-litre boot, making it practical as well as fast.
Ferrari also invested five years in developing an acoustic system that captures and amplifies the hum of the electric motors, rather than synthetically mimicking an engine roar. The company promises the Luce does not sound like a washing machine, a common complaint among EV detractors.
Ferrari remains unmoved by the online noise. 'Ferrari Luce is not a response to change,' Elkann told journalists at the Rome launch. 'It's a decision, a deliberate decision, to lead what comes next with clarity, with courage.'
The Luce enters a European EV market that has seen sales surge nearly 50% in March, driven partly by rising fuel prices linked to geopolitical tensions. Yet Ferrari's high price point and divisive design may test whether even the most iconic brands can navigate the transition to electrification without alienating their core customers.
