Jony Ive's Ferrari Luce Interior: A Tactile Rebellion Against Tesla's Touchscreen Dominance

When Apple's former design chief Jony Ive turned his attention to reimagining Ferrari's first electric vehicle interior, he created something that might have been the Apple Car we never got—a tactile, mechanical masterpiece that deliberately bucks the industry's touchscreen trend. The Ferrari Luce, set to debut in May, represents Ive's five-year vision of how humans should interact with technology in vehicles, and it's a direct rebuke to Tesla's minimalist approach.

Ive has never been shy about his disdain for the current state of automotive interiors. In recent comments, he described Tesla's button-less, screen-centric designs as "easy and lazy," arguing that the novelty of controlling everything through a single touchscreen "got old quickly" and now simply screams "cost savings" rather than innovation. His critique goes deeper than aesthetics—he believes that powerful tools like touchscreens "need frameworks and structures to understand how to use them responsibly," frameworks that haven't been adequately developed in the rush to digitize car interiors.

Instead of following this trend, Ive has equipped the Ferrari Luce with what he calls "precision-engineered mechanical buttons, dials, toggles, and switches" for input, paired with "multifunctional digital displays" for output. But these aren't your grandfather's gauges—they feature a decidedly retro look that bridges Ferrari's heritage with modern technology. It's a design philosophy that prioritizes the tactile experience, recognizing that the physical feedback of pressing a button or turning a dial creates a more intuitive and safer interaction while driving.

This approach isn't entirely unprecedented. Volkswagen has experimented with similar concepts in its upcoming electric vehicles, capitalizing on instantly recognizable design elements from its storied past. However, Ive's execution for Ferrari appears more comprehensive and philosophically driven. Where Tesla reduces the interface to its simplest possible form, Ive is adding complexity back in—but doing so with the precision and elegance that made Apple products feel inevitable rather than complicated.

The timing of this reveal is particularly interesting given Ive's other high-profile partnership with OpenAI. While he's helping shape the future of AI interaction at OpenAI, his work with Ferrari suggests he believes that for certain applications—particularly those requiring split-second decisions while operating heavy machinery—physical interfaces remain superior to purely digital ones. It's a reminder that even in our increasingly screen-dominated world, there's still value in the tangible.

For Apple Car enthusiasts who've long speculated about what an Apple-designed vehicle might look like, the Ferrari Luce offers tantalizing clues. Ive's design language—focused on human-centric interaction, premium materials, and interfaces that feel familiar from the first touch—translates remarkably well from consumer electronics to automotive design. The Luce demonstrates that Apple's design philosophy isn't about minimalism for its own sake, but about creating the most effective interface for the task at hand.

As we await the full reveal of the Ferrari Luce in May, one thing is clear: Jony Ive isn't just designing a car interior; he's making a statement about the future of human-machine interaction. In an industry rushing toward ever-larger touchscreens and voice controls, his commitment to mechanical interfaces feels almost revolutionary. It's a reminder that sometimes, the most innovative design choice is to look backward while moving forward.

The electric Ferrari Luce interior by Jony Ive.