Ferrari CEO responds to Tesla's Roadster launch and gives it a surprising rating

Everybody’s talking about the new Tesla Roadster, including Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna.

Not that long ago, you wouldn’t have used the words Ferrari and Tesla in the same sentence.

But now you kind of have to.

And the way these two companies are praising each other tells you why.

Vigna is apparently a fan of the redesigned Roadster

The Italian manufacturer’s CEO Benedetto Vigna gave the redesigned Roadster debut a perfect 10 out of 10 for both its technology and presentation.

Speaking at an automotive industry event, Vigna thanked both the automaker and Elon Musk personally for demonstrating that even an established, mature industrial sector can still take bold risks and innovate.

“It certainly shows that also in the automotive world there’s still a lot to be done,” Vigna said.

“We have to keep dreaming. As a European, thank you for showing us how to do that, even in an old world, you can still innovate and dare.”

Where Tesla and Ferrari will (and won’t) compete

There’s probably one specific market, or maybe we should say ‘domain’, where Tesla and Ferrari will have to compete, but there are probably at least two where they won’t.

When the Luce was unveiled, several people made a very solid point.

The Luce is designed to appeal to the sort of high-net-worth, tech-oriented individual who wouldn’t have considered a Ferrari before.

But these people definitely considered a Tesla before.

So that’s one thing they have in common.

But then Ferrari has two things going on that most manufacturers don’t have.

First, they have a very serious, extremely well-structured track and racing program like the Ferrari Challenge.

It’s taken very seriously by the company because it’s taken very seriously by its customers, who pay a fortune to buy, maintain, and store track-only vehicles.

Tesla doesn’t have that – and, dare we say, they probably don’t particularly want one, either.

Pictured below and above: Ferrari’s top brass including CEO Benedetto Vigna (first from left) showing the new Luce to Italian President Sergio Mattarella

Second, Ferraris are seen as collectibles, whereas vehicles like the Model Y or Model 3 aren’t.

The original Tesla Roadster is a respected and valued exception but, in general, most vehicles from the American EV maker are first and foremost usable, consumable commodities.

Ferraris aren’t.

This is what Tesla had to say about the Luce

Since we mentioned what Vigna had to say about the Roadster, it might be interesting to also talk about what Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Designer, had to say.

During an impromptu Q&A after the Tesla Roadster reveal, von Holzhausen was asked about the Luce and his answer was interesting.

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“I appreciate every manufacturer getting into the space. I tend to not comment on other people’s design direction. So I’ll take the fifth on that,” von Holzhausen said with a smile.

But while he declined to talk about its design, he did praise Ferrari for what they were doing, and he explained why.

“I do think it’s great that even brands that are notoriously about racing and speed and noise are actively looking at more environmentally-friendly solutions to transportation. I think that’s where our world needs to go. I applaud them for doing that,” he said.