News

Ferrari’s first Electric Vehicle is not for you

Published

5 months ago

May 26, 2026

Everyone seems to be mad about Ferrari’s first electric vehicle.

Called Luce, and revealed on Monday, the design of the five-seater (gasp!) was led in large part by Jony Ive and the design firm he runs with Marc Newson, LoveFrom. While it ticks a lot of spec sheet boxes — it boasts 1,000 horsepower and the ability to hit 60 miles per hour in just over two seconds — it’s tracking to be the most mocked new vehicle since the Cybertruck.

This widespread rejection of the wedge-shaped, Nissan-resembling car covers seemingly the whole spectrum, too, from the typical flimsy knee-jerk reactions, to the positively vitriolic. The company’s stock price is down, and even some of the most down-the-middle news outlets are admitting it in their own ways. (Bloomberg said the Luce is “quite a stretch.”)

The question underneath all of this immediate backlash is singular: Who is the Luce for?

Certainly it’s not for me, or for almost anyone reading this. The Luce will cost around $650,000, and this is Ferrari we’re talking about, so even if you have that kind of money, you’re dealing with a company that is, shall we say, selective about its customers.

Is it for existing Ferrari owners? Typically that answer is yes — more than 80% of the 14,000 people who bought a Ferrari last year already own one of its vehicles. It’s hard to imagine that crowd being sufficiently excited about a car that is so devoid of the fierce Ferrari angles that have adorned bedroom walls for decades.

Is it for other car designers? Possibly. Car companies borrow ideas all the time, and there’s definitely plenty on the interior — which features a lot of clicky buttons and knobs, a marked departure for Ive — that I’d personally like to see repeated elsewhere.

Is it for regulators? Well, maybe. The European Union is placing severe limits on the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines in 2035. The Luce may be the first step Ferrari’s taking toward a lineup that complies with those looming rules.

In fact, during an interview with Cleo Abram, we learn that this external pressure seems to have weighed heavily on Ive. Abram was given access to one of four “secret” books Ive created when he started the project, which contains a mix of mood board-style imagery and text written by the iPhone designer himself.

Abram quotes Ive as comparing the task of designing an electric Ferrari to how luxury Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe adapted during the evolution from mechanical power to quartz crystals. Ive wrote that Patek Philippe survived “primarily because it survived and grew in the transition” by making a mix of traditional timepieces and watches with batteries and quartz movements.

But then, he added: “If it had been legislated that Patek Philippe had to transition its entire product line to quartz, the resulting challenge would appear similar to the transition Ferrari is facing.” Telling!

Still, I find it hard to believe this is purely a compliance car. The company has said it expects the Luce to be profitable from the jump. And Ferrari’s own chief marketing and commercial officer told the Financial Times that the company wanted the Luce to be “polarising.”

He also made another admission in that interview, saying that Ferrari’s main target with the Luce is someone who “already owns an electric car.”

That statement is nearly as radical as the Luce’s design. By definition, that likely means Ferrari isn’t looking at current owners to make up the bulk of Luce sales.

Which brings us to what may be the truest answer: China. While Chinese buyers have typically only made up around 10% of Ferrari’s overall sales, those numbers have declined in recent years, and the automaker’s executives haven’t been shy about wanting their first EV to turn things around in the largest market for battery-powered vehicles in the world.

Viewed through that lens, the Luce’s design makes a bit more sense, as — to my eyes — it certainly resembles some of the designs that have come out of China’s booming auto industry over the last few years.

So maybe the more proper question to ask is this: Will Chinese buyers, who are currently awash in high-performance, high-tech, affordable options, care to pay up for the prestige of a prancing horse on the hood?

News

2027: Bauchi mosque removes Imam over campaign for Tinubu

Published

48 minutes ago

October 22, 2026

PlateauReports

imam

The management committee of Masjid Abdullahi Bin Zubbair in Madina Quarters, Bauchi State, has removed its Imam, Dahiru Abubakar.

The development followed allegations that he used sermons to campaign for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

This is even as the committee also rejected an alleged proposal by the Imam to rename the mosque after Tinubu.

According to Daily Trust, the Imam's removal was confirmed by Abubakar Jibrin, committee chairman.

Jibrin claimed that the Imam had repeatedly been warned against engaging in political activities within the mosque.

According to the report, the Imam had used sermons after obligatory prayers to defend Tinubu’s administration.

He was accused of telling worshippers that President Tinubu wasn't responsible for the country’s insecurity and deserved another term.

The committee decided to remove the Imam after he repeated the remarks following the early morning Subhi prayer on Sunday.

Jibrin said the committee’s concerns also included the Imam’s alleged practice of gathering people inside and in front of the mosque to discuss politics.

“We have warned him not once or twice but many times, but he didn’t heed our pleas,” Jibrin said. “We vehemently rejected the use of the mosque for political meetings.”

The Imam had also proposed to change the mosque’s name from Masjid Abdullahi Bin Zubbair to Masjid Imam Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

However, the committee rejected the proposal, insisting that the mosque belonged to the community and should retain its existing name.

2027: Bauchi mosque removes Imam over campaign for Tinubu

Health

Ebola: Nigerians link outbreak to government’s 2027 election plans

Published

4 hours ago

October 22, 2026

PlateauReports

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Following the confirmation of an Ebola case in Abuja, some Nigerians on X have linked the development to the federal government’s plans for the 2027 general elections, questioning the timing of the outbreak and its handling of the case.

The comments include claims that the government could use the disease as a pretext to restrict movement, affect political gatherings or influence voter turnout ahead of the elections.

The federal government on Tuesday confirmed that a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda tested positive for Ebola and is receiving treatment in isolation at a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Authorities said 44 close contacts had been identified, including healthcare workers, patients, caregivers and travel contacts, and are being monitored as part of efforts to prevent further transmission.

The announcement has triggered scepticism among some Nigerians online, with some questioning whether the case could be connected to political activities ahead of the 2027 elections.

One X user, @xikonex, claimed that the government could impose movement restrictions after Christmas, alleging that such measures could prevent Nigerians from travelling to their polling areas.

“APC and Bola Tinubu are planning to use Ebola to restrict Nigerians’ movement immediately after Christmas,” the user wrote, alleging that the aim would be to prevent people from voting.

Another user, @funnycrown6, urged Nigerians to remain vigilant ahead of the elections, saying: “Nigeria’s health must never become a tool for political propaganda. Our lives are not campaign strategies.”

@AnthonyOnyeGuy also questioned the timing of the development, writing: “Conveniently happening 2 months to a general election.”

Another user, @Franeb, similarly alleged that the government could impose restrictions under the guise of containing Ebola, writing that “Bola Tinubu wants to lock down Nigeria in the name of Ebola.”

Comparing 2014 response

Some Nigerians also compared the current response with Nigeria’s handling of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, when Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer became the country’s index case after arriving in Lagos.

@N6oflife6 wrote that Nigerians knew the identity of the 2014 index case and the hospital where he was treated, but claimed that the government had provided less information about the current patient.

“Ebola has happened under BAT. Two days now we don’t even know the name of the patient or who they have contacted,” the user wrote.

Similarly, @firstladyship referenced Sawyer and the late physician Stella Adadevoh, who died after contracting Ebola while treating him, arguing that the current response has left room for “guesses” and “speculations”.

However, the federal government has assured that it is taking measures to contain the infection and prevent community transmission.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said authorities are currently treating the case as an imported infection rather than community transmission. The 44 identified contacts are being monitored for at least three weeks, while public health teams continue to identify people who may have been exposed.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also urged Nigerians to remain calm, saying that one imported case does not by itself mean Nigeria is experiencing an Ebola outbreak.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, said the organisation is supporting Nigeria with case investigation, contact tracing, laboratory testing, infection prevention and control, and protection of health workers and communities.

Lawmakers demand action

Amid public concern, the House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the federal government to release outstanding funds appropriated for health agencies, citing the need to strengthen surveillance, contact tracing, and emergency response.

Lawmakers also raised concerns about infection prevention supplies, health-worker preparedness and emergency response capacity. The Senate separately called for the immediate release of emergency funds from the Service Wide Vote and urged stronger health screening at airports and other entry points.

Nigeria successfully contained its 2014 Ebola outbreak and was declared free of transmission by WHO on 20 October 2014, after 42 days without a new case. The outbreak recorded 20 cases, including 19 laboratory-confirmed cases and one probable case, with eight deaths.