Ferrari's First-Ever EV Ruthlessly Mocked By Fans, Former Chairman: 'Looks Like An Appliance'

Luxury sports car maker Ferrari officially unveiled the Luce on Monday (May 25), its first-ever all-electric vehicle, with a starting price of $640,000 (Rs 6.15 crore). Designed in collaboration with LoveFrom, the agency founded by former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive, the Luce marks a significant departure from Ferrari's signature style language as the brand's first five-seater. Named after the Italian word for “light,” the car was intentionally designed to look “entirely new,” a bold move that has drawn polarised reactions. Ferrari shares fell more than 8 per cent on the Milan stock market and by over 5 per cent in New York on Tuesday (May 26).

The internet quickly erupted over the vehicle's rather unconventional styling. On social media platforms like X, motor enthusiasts drew comparisons to consumer gadgets, with some joking that the car looks like a "magic mouse" on wheels. Others described it as "straight to the junkyard trash".

La recharge électrique de la Ferrari Luce pensée par Jony Ive... pic.twitter.com/Jy59HMfBaY

— iPhoneSoft.fr (@iphonesoft_fr) May 26, 2026

Never thought I'd say this about a Ferrari, but this is one of the ugliest EV designs ever, and it can be all yours for $640,000 lol https://t.co/uaxkG0ynH7 pic.twitter.com/7SlFoCq624

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) May 25, 2026

Proud to unveil the Luce Migliore

A Ferrari electric vehicle designed by me and ChatGPT in 8 seconds at a cost of $0.10 https://t.co/wCuOEC2BIc pic.twitter.com/wpi4N5c79o

— Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) May 26, 2026

That's what you get when you engage a product/industrial designer to do automotive design!

You end up with a toaster on wheels as an excuse of a car! Then Ferrari now has the guts to charge $640k for it!

They must be out of their goddam mind!! https://t.co/rwiUXVEYN0

— Ex-Grammaton Cleric (@OtunbaBrickz) May 25, 2026

On Reddit, automotive purists expressed deep disappointment, arguing that the soft, continuous curves strip away the aggressive, muscular stance that historically defines the Italian carmaker.

"The Luce looks like an appliance. Why is it that some automakers think that electric vehicles have to look like electronic devices?" said one user, while another added: "Good god, the Luce looks like a re-skinned Prius with a mid-90s wheel package."

Disappointed by the design style, a Ferrari fan instructed ChatGPT to render an electric car for the Italian brand, with the results impressing the majority of users.

"Today I was disappointed by the new 'Ferrari Luce', so I asked ChatGPT for an electric Ferrari that actually looked good," the fan captioned the AI image.

The 'Ferrari Elettrica' - Today I was disappointed by the new 'Ferrari Luce', so I asked ChatGPT for an electric Ferrari that actually looked good
by u/IvoCass in ChatGPT

The backlash even reached the highest levels of Italian politics. Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini weighed in publicly, expressing sharp criticism over the drastic aesthetic shift of an iconic national symbol.

"Electric, outrageously expensive (550 thousand euros!) and, from an aesthetic point of view, it speaks for itself... It looks like anything but a car from the Prancing Horse. And this is supposed to be “innovation”? Who knows what Enzo Ferrari would say," wrote Salvin in an X post.

Elettrica, costosissima (550 mila euro!) e, dal punto di vista estetico, si commenta da sola... Sembra tutto fuorché un'auto del Cavallino. E questa sarebbe “innovazione”? Chissà Enzo Ferrari cosa direbbe... pic.twitter.com/zITSlz1a9j

— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) May 26, 2026

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the former chairman of Ferrari, made it clear that he was not in tune with the decision-making at the company he led between 1991 and 2014.

"If I said what I really think, I'd harm Ferrari. We're risking the destruction of a myth, I'm very sorry about that. I hope they at least remove the Prancing Horse from that car," Montezemolo told reporters, as per a report in Techspot.

記者「これを本当にフェラーリとして出してしまうんですかね？」
元フェラーリ会長ルカ・ディ・モンテゼーモロ氏
「せめて、あの車から跳ね馬のエンブレムだけは外してほしいよ」
記者「中国とどう向き合えばいいと思いますか？」… pic.twitter.com/ZqWn3zNJlW

— ヴィズマーラ恵子🇮🇹 (@vismoglie) May 26, 2026

However, the Luce is not without its strong defenders. Automotive experts at Motor1 praised the vehicle, urging critics to appreciate Ferrari's willingness to break engineering boundaries.

"Its radical exterior is unlike anything we've ever seen, and its ultra-minimalist interior could help set a new standard for interior design. Love it or hate it, the Luce is going to be impossible to ignore."

As it turns out, Ferrari anticipated a potential backlash. Emanuele Carando, the company's global marketing director, said: 'We are going to have some great lovers and we are going to have a lot of hater. We do expect this, and I think this is also good."

Piero Ferrari, vice chairman of Ferrari, added: "Those who want to criticise can criticise, but I would reply: see it and try it. Once you have driven it, you'll probably change your mind."

Ferrari Luce Specs

Measuring 5019 mm in length and sitting lower than the Purosangue, the Luce features a teardrop-shaped passenger cell enclosed within an aluminium body. The front section has a wing-like structure, while the hood and windshield merge seamlessly into a single flowing surface.

At the heart of the Luce is a quad-motor setup, with each wheel powered independently. Developed entirely in-house, these permanent-magnet motors draw from Ferrari's experience in Formula 1 and endurance racing. The Luce also supports fast charging up to 350 kW and offers an eight-year unlimited-mileage warranty on the powertrain.