‘Can one tweet wipe out ₹3,500 crore in just 2 hours?': Thyrocare’s A Velumani questions Ola Electric’s shock plunge

“Can one tweet wipe out ₹3,500 crore in just two hours? Or is it something deeper?” Thyrocare founder Dr. A. Velumani posted a poser on X as shares of Ola Electric plunged after a public spat between its CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and comedian Kunal Kamra.

The drama unfolded when Kamra posted a photo of Ola’s electric scooters at a service center, criticizing their quality and questioning whether Indian consumers were being treated fairly. 

Kamra tagged Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, sparking a storm of responses. Aggarwal fired back, accusing Kamra of a “paid tweet” and offering him a job to help fix the issues, while taking a jab at Kamra’s comedy career. 

The exchange quickly went viral, reportedly pulling the company’s stock into a tailspin.

Ola Electric’s shares tanked 6.18%, falling to ₹85.21, wiping out ₹3,625 crore from the company’s market cap. 

This marked a significant drop from its August 20 high of ₹157.53, with the company’s valuation now dipping below $5 billion for the first time since its stock market debut. The feud between Aggarwal and Kamra was just the latest in a series of headaches for Ola, with the company already facing mounting consumer complaints.

The National Consumer Helpline has logged over 10,000 complaints about Ola e-scooters in the past year, adding fuel to the fire. Additionally, the Central Consumer Protection Authority slapped the company with a show-cause notice, citing alleged misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices. Ola, however, downplayed the impact, stating that the notice would not affect its operations and that it plans to respond within the given 15-day period.

Dr. Velumani’s tweet seemed to hit a nerve, pointing to the larger issue of how a single social media post, combined with underlying service problems, can have massive financial consequences.