Why people are losing it over Ferrari’s first all-electric car

Ferrari’s first-ever all-electric vehicle, the Ferrari Luce, was designed to look “entirely new,” the company says, and so far the reaction to the new EV has been polarized. Shares of the Italian luxury automaker fell in premarket trading Tuesday after Ferrari unveiled the car named after the Italian word for “light” on the anniversary of its first Rome Grand Prix victory. [Photo: Ferrari] The Luce, expected to sell for about $640,000, was designed by former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive and Marc Newson through their design collective LoveFrom. Online, people expressed their disappointment. The Luce doesn’t look like Ferarri, some complained, suggesting it has the sleek, compact, and rounded forms of an iPad rather than the automaker’s traditional sports car look of angular, aerodynamic forms. On Reddit, users called the Luce “awful,” and compared it to Waymo. Car & Driver commenters didn’t think it has Ferrari DNA. X users called it a “beautiful ugly car” and asked if it was available on Temu, or designed by Hot Wheels. In a statement, Ive explained that the car’s electric drive train allows for a “radically new architecture,” adding that it encouraged a spaciousness that most sports cars cannot afford. “The design approach was driven by a determination to explore, exploit and celebrate the unprecedented opportunities afforded by a new power source,” Ive said. “While inspired by this extraordinary opportunity, we were mindful of the challenges of moving beyond the visceral engagement and soulful engine noise of the past.” [Photo: Ferrari] The EV has more than 60 new patents, and it could be the closest thing we get to an “Apple car” after Apple dropped its EV project in 2024. Its shell-like form is reminiscent of a computer mouse, as if the whole top is a multi-touch trackpad you can click. [Photo: Ferrari] The exterior design is built on the concept of a glass house wit