Benedetto Vigna, the CEO of Ferrari, gave the new Tesla Roadster 10 out of 10 for technology and another 10 out of 10 for presentation on Tuesday, October 20, Reuters reported. Vigna spoke in an interview at an automotive conference organized by the Italian magazine Quattroruote. Vigna joined by videoconference from India, where Ferrari was hosting a client event.
"We have to keep dreaming," Vigna said, after noting that there is still a lot to be done in the car world. Vigna also thanked Tesla directly. "As a European, thank you for showing us how that, even in an old world, you can still innovate and dare," Vigna said. Tesla showed the Roadster on October 15 at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas. The car drove up a ramp until it hung upside down, held in place by a fan system that sucks it toward the surface, then fired compressed-air thrusters to flip back to the ground, The Drive reported. Tesla also ran 0 to 60 mph in a claimed 0.81 seconds. Our reveal coverage explains why buyers doubt the delivery date.
Tesla executives filled in the numbers the next day in a video with Top Gear, InsideEVs reported. The base car makes over 1,073 hp, and the stronger versions make over 1,341 hp. Every version is rear-wheel drive, the lightest weighs about 3,700 pounds, and real-world range is about 310 to 320 miles. Top speed is 214 mph for now, with a target of 330 mph. That range is about half of the 620 miles Tesla promised when it first showed this Roadster in 2017, InsideEVs noted. The shape changed too, into what Motor1 calls a wedge-shaped silhouette with sharp angles, plus headlights that pop down behind a panel. We still think the 2017 concept looked better.
Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, said production would start in 2028. Tesla shares rose at first, but analysts said delivery was still some way off after years of false starts, Reuters reported.
Ferrari has an electric car of its own to sell. The Luce, Ferrari's first fully electric model, was developed with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and the team at Ive's LoveFrom studio. Ferrari's shares fell in Milan in May after the reveal, Reuters reported.
Vigna told the conference that outside eyes shaped the Luce. "If we had worked on our own, we wouldn't have done what we did," Vigna said.
Two days after the interview, InsideEVs and Electrek reported that Ferrari had confirmed a US starting price of $560,800 for the Luce, first reported by Car and Driver. That is roughly $80,000 under the $640,000 figure many outlets worked out from its €550,000 European price, Electrek said. Options cost extra, and American deliveries are planned for the second quarter of 2027. The Luce has four motors, one per wheel, for 1,035 hp combined, and it is Ferrari's first five-seater.
Ferrari plans to keep selling gas engines alongside it. At its Capital Markets Day on October 9, 2025, Ferrari said its 2030 lineup will be 40% combustion, 40% hybrid, and 20% electric, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The same plan calls the electric car "an addition to the range" and says Ferrari will keep investing in line with "the principle of technology neutrality."
Does the Roadster earn a perfect score from Maranello? Cast your own vote on WhipJury.
Sources:
Vigna's ratings, quotes, the Quattroruote conference, the Luce reveal, Ive and LoveFrom, Ferrari's share drop, the 2028 production date, and the analyst reaction: Reuters via KFGO (Reuters original)
The story: Motor1
The McGregor reveal, the upside-down drive, the thrusters, and the 0.81-second run: The Drive
The reveal date, horsepower, weight, drive layout, range, top speed, and the 2017 range promise: InsideEVs
The wedge shape and the pop-down headlights: Motor1 and Motor1
The Luce price, options, deliveries, motors, and seating: Electrek and InsideEVs
Ferrari's 2030 lineup mix and technology neutrality: Ferrari interim report, SEC Form 6-K
Photos: Tesla; Luce via Wikimedia Commons: Banhada (CC BY 4.0)
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Cam Walsh has been obsessing over cars since before he could drive one. Based out of Atlanta, Cam covers automotive design, car culture, and the eternal debate over which whips actually look the part.
