Sit quiet: Bhavish Aggarwal after comedian Kunal Kamra flags issues with Ola EVs

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and stand-up comic Kunal Kamra exchanged verbal volleys on social media platform X after the latter highlighted issues with the Bengaluru-based company's electric vehicles.

In Short

• Kunal Kamra criticises Ola's service, sparking a heated social media exchange
• Ola CEO accuses Kamra for 'paid tweet', mocks at his comedy career
• Kamra demands accountability, urging refunds for recent buyers facing issues

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and comedian Kunal Kamra engaged in a bitter exchange on social media after the latter shared a post highlighting issues with the electric vehicles manufactured by the company.

Kamra shared a picture of an Ola service centre where the EVs are parked in a tight space biting dust. "Do Indian consumers have a voice? Do they deserve this? Two-wheelers are many daily wage workers' lifeline," Kamra said while retweeting a post by Aggarwal where the latter had shared the photo of a picturesque Ola Gigafactory.

"Anyone who has an issue with OLA electric, leave your story below tagging all," he said, tagging Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Ministry of Consumer Affairs in the post.

Many people in the comment sections shared their unpleasant experience with Ola EVs. "Worse is the leader has no reply. Ola, an Indian company, is treating Indian customers how fly by night Chinese companies treat the entire continent of Africa. Shame @bhash," said Kamra in reply to a comment on his post.

The post triggered a response from Bhavish Aggarwal, who accused Kamra of targeting his company through a "paid tweet".

"Since you care so much @kunalkamra88, come and help us out. I’ll even pay more than you earned for this paid tweet or from your failed comedy career. Or else sit quiet and let us focus on fixing the issues for the real customers. We’re expanding service network fast and backlogs will be cleared soon," Aggarwal tweeted.

Kamra didn’t let Aggarwal’s taunts slide. “Paid tweet, failed comedy career, and sit quietly. Indian businessman at their humble best,” he shot back.

The stand-up comic further challenged Aggarwal to prove his claims about being paid for the tweet. “If you can prove I am paid for the tweet... I'll delete all social media and sit quietly forever,” he said.

He also shared a clip from a past stand-up performance, saying, "On my failed comedy career here’s a clip from last year when I surprised an audience and opened for Grover. Anything else you arrogant, substandard, prick."

To this, Bhavish Aggarwal quipped, "Chot lagi? Dard hua? (did it hurt) Aaja (come to) service centre. Bahut kaam hai (We have a lot of work). I will pay better than your flop shows pay you.”

Undeterred, Kamra shifted the focus back to the customers, demanding that Ola provide a “total refund” for anyone looking to return their electric vehicle, particularly those who purchased it in the last four months. "So you can’t offer a 100 per cent refund to people who have purchased your OLA in the last 4 months who are genuine customers. But you want to pay me who’s not a customer," he said.

“I don’t need your money. People not being able to get to their workplace need your accountability. Show your customers that you truly care,” Kamra said.

Aggarwal, however, continued to comment about Kamra's comedy career. "Comedian ban na sake, chaudhary banne chale (Couldn't become a comedian and is trying to be a leader here). Do your research better next time. And the offer to come and help us out in our service center remains open. Take up the challenge. Maybe you’ll learn some real skills for a change," he said.

Aggarwal emphasised that his company had enough programs for customers if they face service delays.

"Again, don’t try and back out of this. Come and do some real work rather than armchair criticism," he said in a reply to Kamra's tweet.

Ola, originally known as Ola Cabs, is an Bengaluru-based ride-hailing company founded in 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. The company launched its first electric scooter, the Ola S1, on August 15, 2021. This marked the company's entry into the electric vehicle (EV) market.