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Ferrari announced its first EV, the Ferrari Luce, on Monday.
Ferrari announced its first EV, the Ferrari Luce, on Monday.
  • Ferrari just announced its first-ever EV, and the internet was not happy.
  • The $640,000 Ferrari Luce, which comes in a light blue, is being compared to a Nissan Leaf and a Kia.
  • Markets also reacted unfavorably, with Ferrari's share price down 6% in morning trading.

Ferrari's hot new EV is getting roasted on the internet.

On Monday, the Italian luxury carmaker gave its first look at its first-ever fully-electric car, the Ferrari Luce. The car, designed by former Apple designer Jony Ive and Australian industrial designer Marc Newson, costs $640,000.

Ferrari posted a video on its Instagram of the car being unveiled by Ferrari's F1 drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

The car, which comes with four electric engines, can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds, and features a body encased in glass. It comes in three colors: light blue, yellow, and the iconic Ferrari red. It's also Ferrari's first-ever five-seater car.

But the internet wasn't a fan of its design. Several users on X have compared it to the Nissan Leaf, an EV that comes in the same blue and black color way and costs a fraction of its price.

Ferrari's shares were down 6% in early trading in Milan on Tuesday following the unveiling of the Luce.

Ferrari did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

X users got creative in expressing their disdain, with one saying it looked like it was made by South Korean automaker Kia and another calling it "one of the ugliest EV designs ever."

An X user asked if it was possible to "buy the new Ferrari Luce interior without the exterior," and another said they were hoping for something more "batmobile-y."

Other users took it upon themselves to redesign it, using ChatGPT or Grok to generate what they thought the Luce should look like — sleeker, shinier, and lower to the ground.

Speaking on a Cleo Abram podcast released on Monday about the new Ferrari, Newson, the designer, said "critics are part of the process" while innovating.

He said that people are very nostalgic now, and look to the past more than the future, which makes their jobs as designers "very difficult."

Ferrari is far from the first luxury carmaker to have launched an EV. Porsche, Cadillac, Rolls-Royce, and other automakers have launched electric vehicles, too.

Luce enters a tough EV market

The launch of the Luce is a landmark moment for the revered Italian automaker, but it comes as storm clouds gather over the wider EV industry.

Global electric vehicle sales have flatlined this year amid falling demand in the US and China, the world's two largest auto markets.

Major automakers, including Ford, GM, and Honda, have scaled back their ambitious EV plans, scrapping models and writing off billions of dollars.

Ferrari's decision to go electric is unlikely to do much to jump-start the flagging EV transition, but it could help insulate the company from competition from fast-growing Chinese automakers, who are beginning to expand into the luxury market.

Tesla's arch-nemesis BYD launched its luxury Denza sub-brand in Europe last month, and the EV giant's Yangwang U9 supercar, which sells for $233,000 in China, became the world's fastest production car last year.

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