Former Ferrari Boss Slams Luce EV: "Take The Prancing Horse Off"
The day after Ferrari unveiled its first-ever electric vehicle, it is becoming quite clear that the Luce is the most controversial production car in Maranello's history.
It's not just the fact that it's battery electric; the design is also very uncharacteristic for the brand. It looks so unlike any other Ferrari in history that you'd be hard pressed to recognize it as a Ferrari if you stripped away the prancing horse badges.
What's more, the starting price of around $640,000-much higher than the average selling price of a new Ferrari of $527,000 in Q1 2026-is another big question mark in a dwindling EV market.
Ferrari Shares Fell Sharply After The Luce's Reveal
And then there's the stock markets' reaction to it. Ferrari shares (RACE) fell almost 8.4% today in Milan and roughly 4% in New York. The sharp decline is attributed by analysts cited by CNBC to a mix of "design hate" and the classic market adage of "travel and arrive," where a stock's price steadily increases in anticipation of a major event, only to drop or stagnate once the event actually happens.
But there may be more to it. The markets' reaction to the Ferrari Luce reveal may also have something to do with the fact that the Italian luxury brand is placing a bet in the EV space even as other luxury carmakers, such as Porsche and Lamborghini, have backtracked on plans to launch new EVs due to weak demand.
Related to this point, some investors may fear that if the Ferrari Luce does not sell well, Ferrari will have to assume losses derived from high research and development costs, which in turn will affect its profitability.
One thing is certain; as Oddo BHF auto analyst Anthony Dick told CNBC, the stock price response is "by far the sharpest reaction we've seen for a car design - the market has spoken."
Ferrari's Former Boss Destroyed The Luce EV
Montezemolo:
— Heart (@heart_) May 26, 2026
"If I said what i think, it would damage #Ferrari. We risk the destruction of a myth. I hope they remove the prancing horse from that car"
pic.twitter.com/pJ2rr5P5Er
And it's not just the market that has spoken. Ferrari's longtime chairman and president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, had some particularly harsh words to say about the Luce. The man who oversaw Ferrari's transformation from a financially struggling automaker into a global luxury powerhouse and led the Scuderia Ferrari through its most successful Formula 1 era in history is not a big fan of EVs.
He famously said in 2011 that there would never be a Ferrari electric vehicle, at least not with him at the helm. While he stuck to his word (he led Ferrari from 1991 to 2014), he now finds it hard to understand why the Luce looks like it does and why it exists in the first place.
"If I had to say what I think, I would hurt Ferrari. You risk destroying a myth and I am very sorry. At least take the prancing horse off," Luca di Montezemolo said when asked about the Luce, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. "This is definitely a car that the Chinese won't copy," the former Ferrari boss added referring to the EV's design.
If there's a man who knows Ferrari and Ferrari customers, it's definitely Luca di Montezemolo, so his words carry a lot of weight. For the sake of the brand, let's hope he was overreacting.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 7:00 AM.