‘Chot lagi? Dard hua?’: Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and Kunal Kamra clash online over EV service delays

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and comedian Kunal Kamra recently clashed in a heated exchange on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The argument began when Kamra criticised the service issues faced by Ola's electric scooter customers, leading to a sharp rebuttal from Aggarwal.

Kunal Kamra posted a video showing a large number of Ola electric scooters parked at a service centre, voicing concern about the state of customer service. He asked if Indian consumers are being treated fairly and highlighted how many depend on two-wheelers for their livelihoods. His post read, "Do Indian consumers have a voice? Do they deserve this? Two wheelers are many daily wage workers' lifeline...”.

Kamra also tagged Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in his post, asking, "Is this how Indians will get to using EVs? @jagograhakjago any word?"

In a follow-up post, Kamra ramped up his criticism, saying, "Worse is the leader has no reply. Ola, an Indian company, is treating India customers how fly-by-night Chinese companies treat the entire continent of Africa... Shame @bhash."

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal quickly responded, dismissing Kamra’s concerns and suggesting the comedian was being paid to post the criticism. “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 wrote.

Kamra fired back, denying that he had been paid to post anything critical of Ola. He challenged Aggarwal to prove otherwise, stating, “Paid tweet, failed comedy career & Sit quietly. Indian Businessman at their humble best… If you can prove I am paid for the tweet this or anything else I must’ve said against private companies, I’ll delete all social media & sit quietly forever.”

Aggarwal wasn’t done yet, replying with more sharp words: “Chot lagi? Dard hua? Aaja service center. Bahut kaam hai. I will pay better than your flop shows pay you. Show your audience how much you truly care and whether you’re only gas and BS.”

Aggarwal continued, saying that Ola has several programs in place to help customers facing service delays. “We have enough programs for our customers if they face service delays. If you were a genuine one, you would have known. Again, don’t try and back out of this. Come and do some real work rather than armchair criticism,” he added.

Kamra responded by saying, "Ok Ola customers Refund is out of the question. So can you solve issues of every Ola complaint till date before 10th November 2024? I can keep tract of unsolved complaints post 10th November & Keep them public for you."

The public spat highlights growing concerns from customers about service issues with Ola's electric scooters, particularly as the company looks to expand its EV operations in India. While Aggarwal’s strong words may have deflected Kamra's criticism for now, the exchange has brought attention to the challenges faced by EV consumers in the country.