If you expected Maranello to issue a tearful apology after the internet thoroughly trashed the Ferrari Luce, you clearly do not know Benedetto Vigna. Taking the stage at the Motor Valley Fest in Modena, Ferrari’s CEO chose defiance over damage control, dug his heels in, and fired back at everyone.
Addressing the relentless accusations that the brand’s first-ever fully electric vehicle looks like a cheap Chinese clone, Vigna offered a classic defense: “You have to see it and drive it to understand”. According to the chief executive, the Luce owes absolutely nothing to existing EV players, representing instead a pure translation of the Prancing Horse into the electric era. Sure, but at a starting price of 550,000 euros (roughly $600,000), it remains a translation that requires an astronomical financial dictionary.
Vigna unhesitatingly defended that eye-watering price tag with a corporate philosophy that sounds almost altruistic: “Innovation must be paid for”. To discount or underprice the Luce, he argued, would be a direct insult to the company’s dedicated workforce, its elite supply chain, and the cutting-edge technology itself. Apparently, overcharging billionaires is now just a noble form of employee appreciation.
Despite global skepticism and former chairman Luca di Montezemolo’s viral, irritated suggestion to strip the iconic badge off the car entirely, Vigna made his uncompromising leadership style crystal-clear: “In life, I am used to doing what I say, not what others tell me to do”. And this stubbornness seems to be paying dividends, at least on paper.
Vigna revealed that the commercial launch is already a success, with order books filling up rapidly, driven primarily by a wave of new, wealthy buyers who are apparently enchanted by the raw audacity of a silent Ferrari.
More importantly, for the traditionalists currently hyperventilating into their leather driving gloves, Vigna clarified that the Luce does not signal an overnight electric conversion. Maranello’s future is a calculated exercise in corporate hedging: an upcoming hybrid Testarossa, a turbo-charged internal combustion Amalfi, and a glorious, naturally aspirated 12-cylinder Purosangue will continue to live alongside the controversial new EV.
This multi-energy safety net is exactly why Wall Street refuses to panic. Bank of America recently confirmed its “Buy” rating on Ferrari stock, dismissively labeling the post-launch market dip as a massive overreaction. While the bank acknowledges the Luce’s obscene pricing, it relies heavily on Ferrari’s historical superpower to command massive brand premiums regardless of the powertrain.
