Ferrari Chief Executive Benedetto Vigna on Tuesday offered high praise for Tesla’s long-delayed Roadster sports car presentation, asserting that the redesign demonstrates the automotive sector retains ample room for daring innovation despite being a mature market.
Speaking via videoconference from India, where Ferrari was hosting a client event, Vigna addressed an automotive conference organized by the Italian magazine Quattroruote. He awarded the Tesla launch a perfect score of 10 out of 10 for both technology and presentation.
Tesla officially unveiled the next-generation version of its original electric sports car at a launch event in Waco, Texas, on October 15, 2026, nearly a decade after first teasing the vehicle. The presentation featured dramatic stunts, including airborne maneuvers, and showcased a Roadster equipped with SpaceX-derived thrusters. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk stated during the event that production for the new vehicle is scheduled to begin in 2028.
The public unveiling elicited a mixed reaction from financial markets. While Tesla shares initially climbed following the presentation, financial analysts cautioned that actual vehicle delivery remains years away, tempered by a history of false starts and delayed timelines.
Against this backdrop of industry ambition, Vigna drew parallels to Ferrari’s own strategic moves in the electric vehicle space. Ferrari is currently working to win over skeptics after its shares dropped in Milan last May upon revealing the Luce, the luxury sports car maker’s first fully electric vehicle.
The Luce was developed in partnership with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and the creative team from his LoveFrom studio. Vigna emphasized that taking calculated risks and incorporating outside perspectives were essential to bringing the project to fruition.
“If we had worked on our own, we wouldn’t have done what we did. In other words, we tackled a whole series of questions and came up with some answers prompted by people who were observing us from the outside,” Vigna said during the conference interview.
Reflecting on the broader implications of Tesla’s splashy debut, Vigna maintained that the automotive world must continue pushing boundaries. “It certainly shows that also in the automotive world there’s still a lot to be done. We have to keep dreaming,” he said. He added a nod to the transatlantic nature of the milestone, stating, “As a European, thank you for showing us how that, even in an old world, you can still innovate and dare.”
Despite ongoing debates surrounding electric vehicle adoption and market skepticism in Europe and beyond, Vigna also reported that overall customer interest in the Ferrari brand remains robust internationally.
