The Scoop: Ferrari tries to message electric car as market value plunges $5 billion

Ferrari debuted its first electric vehicle, the Luce — Italian for “light.” Designed by storied Apple alum Jony Ive, the four-door, five-seat car can reach 60 mph in 2.5 seconds.

The starting price: $640,000.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna noted the Luce was meant to appeal to existing clients, but also bring in new ones who might not have considered buying a Ferrari in the past.

“We are convinced that a company demonstrates its leadership when it has the courage to dare and to take on the challenge of new technologies,” Vigna said in a press release, which describes the Luce as the company’s first step toward creating “an entirely new Ferrari.”

The problem: no one appears to like it.

Online, consumers have shared memes mocking its design. Some have compared its look to the Nissan Leaf, which costs much less.

Left, Ferrari Luce $645k
Right, Nissan Leaf $35k pic.twitter.com/2PtrCrgnDW

— Tommy (@_TommyMason) May 25, 2026

Amid the jokes, Ferrari shares have fallen, erasing around $5 billion in market value.

Why it matters: On one hand, Ferrari can ignore the noise online. The brand caters to a select group of consumers who often buy more than one vehicle. Chances are someone making a snide comment on Reddit about the Luce can’t afford to purchase one, anyway.

And Ferrari appears ready to confront the backlash.

On LinkedIn, Vigna posted the following: “We need to bear in mind that true innovation does not look for immediate consensus, nor does it stem from the ordinary. Radical breakthroughs inherently challenge the status quo. With the Ferrari Luce, we did not simply adapt our DNA to new technology; we re-imagined the future from a completely blank canvas.”

On the other hand, part of the thrill that comes from owning a Ferrari is knowing most people never will. It’s a status symbol that conveys wealth, success and exclusivity.

It’s worth noting that Ferrari is still selling the splashy, gasoline-powered cars it’s known for. Those aren’t set to disappear. However, how strangers online perceive Ferrari matters. If the brand’s aspirational reputation diminishes among the general public, some of the social value attached to owning one declines with it.

It’s a bold risk. Will it pay off?

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Paul Hiebert is a reporter for PR Daily and Ragan Communications. Follow him on LinkedIn.