Ferrari’s first electric car is getting torn apart online, but that is not stopping buyers from writing cheques.
CEO Benedetto Vigna confirmed this week that the Luce, which was unveiled in Rome on May 25, is already pulling in reservations from both existing Ferrari collectors and entirely new customers, with some reportedly sending bank transfers on the spot after seeing the car in person.
“There is strong interest, including from new clients,” Vigna said. “We’ve already received bank transfers, clients who were there want it.”
Ferrari presented the Luce to around 1,600 clients during launch activities in Rome before officially opening its order books on Wednesday. With deliveries scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026 and orders reported to be stretching into late 2027, the commercial picture is holding up even as the cultural reaction has been brutal.
The criticism has come from all directions. Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo called the Luce a disgrace and said he hoped the company would remove the Prancing Horse badge from it. Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini weighed in publicly, calling the €550,000 price tag outrageous and questioning what Enzo Ferrari would make of it. Online responses have been similarly harsh, with the car’s unconventional design generating widespread ridicule since the reveal.
Markets reacted quickly. Ferrari shares dropped around 8 percent the day after the unveiling as investors processed the mixed signals from a car that looked nothing like the brand’s heritage but came with a price tag of roughly $640,000 and specifications that few rivals can match.
The Luce produces 1,035 horsepower from four electric motors, one at each wheel, and carries a 122 kWh battery with a stated range of 329 miles. Top speed exceeds 310 kilometres per hour. Despite weighing over 2.2 tonnes, Ferrari has positioned it as a performance car first, and the four-door, five-seat layout as a practical bonus for a customer base that may have families but still expects supercar performance.
The design, created in collaboration with LoveFrom, the creative firm founded by former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson, is the main flashpoint. The car is larger than any Ferrari previously sold, features rear-hinged back doors, expansive glass surfaces, and a silhouette some have compared more to high-end consumer electronics than anything from Maranello. Ferrari’s global head of product marketing, Emanuele Carando, acknowledged before the launch that the reaction would be divided. “The reaction we’re going to have among our customer base is going to be very much mixed,” he said.
Analysts have noted that the early order numbers, while not publicly quantified, should be interpreted carefully. Within the Ferrari ecosystem, some collectors purchase every new model not out of genuine enthusiasm but to protect their standing and access to future invite-only allocations. Ferrari has moved to address that, confirming that declining the Luce will have no impact on a client’s future allocation status.
Whether those early reservations reflect real demand or relationship management, Vigna appears confident the car will find its audience. The fourth-quarter delivery numbers will be the clearest measure of whether the gamble has paid off.