Ferrari NV (RACE.US) CEO Benedetto Vigna has publicly addressed the intense media reaction following the debut of the company's first all-electric vehicle, the Luce, at a media roundtable in Modena, Italy. Vigna confirmed that Ferrari has begun receiving formal orders for the Luce from both new and existing clients, stating, "The Ferrari Luce is completely different from any other electric vehicle you've seen from other manufacturers—you have to see it and drive it to understand it is not a copy."

The Luce, unveiled on May 25, is Ferrari's first series-production all-electric model. Positioned as a four-door, five-seat luxury electric hypercar, it starts at 550,000 euros in the Italian market, with deliveries expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2026. Its launch triggered a sharp market reaction, with Ferrari's Milan-listed shares dropping nearly 8% intraday on May 26 and closing down over 6%, erasing approximately $5 billion in market value in a single session.

However, at the Modena event, Vigna's core message was clear: orders are coming in, and customers are voting with their wallets.

**CEO's Three-Pronged Response: On Controversy, Pricing, and "Over-Exposure"**

Vigna offered a rare moment of self-critique in Modena, suggesting Ferrari may have given the electric model excessive media attention, leading some to mistakenly believe the luxury sports car maker was fully pivoting to electrification at the expense of traditional internal combustion engines. He clarified, "We will continue to produce all types of powertrains. The final answer depends on the customer." This statement clarifies a key strategic point: the Luce was partly over-interpreted as a declaration of Ferrari's full electrification, while the company maintains a clear three-track parallel strategy offering pure electric, hybrid, and internal combustion engine vehicles simultaneously. Vigna's message is that launching an electric car does not mean abandoning the V12—the choice lies with the customer, not policymakers.

Regarding the 550,000 euro starting price, which faced scrutiny from day one for being above Ferrari's estimated 2025 average selling price of around 440,000 euros, Vigna offered an uncompromising defense: "Innovation has a cost. If you don't pay for innovation, you betray the people who worked on it, the supply chain that made it possible, and the technology itself." He further argued, "You have to see the Luce to understand it has nothing to do with Chinese electric vehicles or those from other brands."

The Luce incorporates what Ferrari claims are over 60 new patents, including a four-motor drive system, active suspension, four-wheel steering, a 122 kWh battery pack with an 800-volt architecture, and a proprietary electric sound system developed over five years and 40,000 kilometers of track testing. Within Ferrari's business model, which centers on scarcity, a high price is not an error to apologize for—it is a function of brand positioning, not a variable.

**Orders: The Quietest and Most Potent Rebuttal**

In response to the flood of memes and design criticisms on social media, Vigna offered a definitive rebuttal: "Look at the people writing to us, look at the people placing orders. Some are existing clients, some are new." This is not an impromptu public relations tactic. As early as February 2026, while presenting the Luce's technical architecture to potential clients in San Francisco, Vigna indicated that initial client feedback was "very positive." Ferrari's plan was to begin collecting expressions of interest in March and formally start taking orders after the Rome launch event in May—a timeline that has been strictly adhered to.

Reports have corroborated this divergence, noting that analyst observations suggest client feedback has not been as negative as the public reaction. The vocal criticism on social media and the demographic capable of writing a $640,000 check are two groups that do not fully overlap. In Ferrari's commercial logic, ten thousand negative comments on social media are far less damaging than a single target client withdrawing their purchase intent. The message Vigna is keen to convey is precisely that the latter has not occurred.