Ferrari's first electric car is getting destroyed online. A former chairman called it a disgrace, and an Italian deputy prime minister said it doesn't even look like a Ferrari.
And yet the order book is filling up.
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna told reporters on Thursday that the new Luce is already pulling in buyers, with some existing Ferrari owners and some brand new clients showing up. These are the kind of buyers who can write a $640,000 check without flinching.
The Luce was unveiled in Rome on Monday, runs 1,035 horsepower, and gets 329 miles per charge. It starts at €550,000, with customer deliveries set to begin in the fourth quarter.
Vigna pushed back on the price, framing the Luce as a halo car instead of a mass-market shift. Ferrari's 2030 plan still leans on combustion engines, with a target mix of 20% electric, 40% hybrid, and 40% gas-powered.
How investors read this depends on whether they trust the order book or the stock. The order book says wealthy buyers shrugged off the reviews, while the stock says the market is not yet convinced the launch will pay off.
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Ferrari fans hated the look, partly because the Luce is a four-door, five-seater with a body styled by LoveFrom, the design agency Jony Ive started after leaving Apple. Online, the car got compared to a Nissan.
Inside Ferrari's own history, the response was worse. Former chairman Luca di Montezemolo called the Luce a disgrace and said he hoped Ferrari would take the prancing horse logo off it. Italy's deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini called the price outrageous and asked what Enzo Ferrari would say. The reaction carried into the market, with Ferrari's Milan-listed stock dropping 8% on Tuesday after the unveiling.
That kind of drop matters because Ferrari trades on prestige as much as production. When the luxury halo cracks, even briefly, traders move first and ask questions later, which is why understanding valuation moats matters for any luxury name.
The gap between public opinion and private order books is what investors should be tracking. If Vigna's order numbers hold up, the criticism is mostly noise, and the fourth-quarter delivery numbers will be the proof.
The cleaner question is whether wealthy Ferrari buyers actually want an electric Ferrari, or whether they just want a new collectible. That answer won't come for a year or two.
The order book is the only scoreboard that matters here.
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