May 30, 2026 –Ferrari CEO Hits Back at Critics of Controversial Luce EV: ‘If You Don’t Pay for Innovation, There Is No Innovation’
Just four days after unveiling its first-ever all-electric model, Ferrari is already fighting a war on two fronts — one in the showroom, one on the stock exchange.
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna has come out swinging against growing backlash over the Luce, the marque’s €550,000 battery-powered sedan, dismissing criticism of both its polarizing design and its steep price tag as fundamentally missing the point.
“Innovation has a cost,” Vigna told reporters. “If nobody is willing to pay that price, innovation simply doesn’t happen.”
The Luce, co-designed by former Apple chief design officer Sir Jony Ive, carries a starting price roughly 25% above Ferrari’s 2025 average transaction value of €440,000. Vigna was unapologetic. The premium, he argued, isn’t meant to put the Luce in the same conversation as a Tesla or a Porsche Taycan — let alone any Chinese EV. It’s a statement to Ferrari’s existing clientele: this is still a Ferrari, not a rebadged electric appliance.
“You have to see the Luce in person to understand how different it is from what’s coming out of China,” Vigna said, addressing the wave of online criticism that the car’s minimalist, four-door silhouette barely resembles a traditional prancing horse.
The design backlash isn’t limited to social media. Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo publicly slammed the vehicle, going so far as to suggest the iconic Cavallino Rampante badge should be stripped from the car entirely — a remark that underlined just how deep the identity crisis runs inside Maranello.
Yet despite the noise, Vigna claims demand is already materializing. He revealed that both longtime patrons and new buyers have reached out directly — some by handwritten letter — to place orders. The message from the top: Ferrari hasn’t lost its touch, and going electric doesn’t mean abandoning the combustion engine.
Wall Street, however, isn’t convinced. On the day of the Luce’s reveal, Ferrari’s share price plunged as much as 8%, a clear signal that investors view the brand’s electric pivot as a risky bet on uncharted territory.
Whether Vigna’s bold defense can quiet the storm — or whether the Luce will ultimately redefine what a Ferrari can be — remains one of the auto industry’s most closely watched stories this year.
