Re: OLA CEO Bhavish Aggarwal's reply to petrolheads First of all I have zero respect for these traditional automotive media and journalists, especially Indian journos whose credibility is up in the air. When I watch their reviews it is full of cringe content and the desperate efforts to crack jokes that aren’t even funny. Just watch the MG ZS EV road trip video posted by one of these media outlets, the over acting breaks the cringe barriers.
These are the same journalists who stayed mum when many VAG customers were suffering from DSG failure issues. None were ready to pick up the story, so much for credibility. Even the reviews they post remind me of how we were taught in university back in the day to prepare for interviews, where if the HR asks for your weakness, you name one that can be disguised as a strength. Same is apparent in their reviews.
When they review a car the whole effort is to make sure they don’t offend the car brand and get kicked off the press vehicle access. When the reviewer says that the car has received zero stars in safety ratings but that means the light body and chassis makes it more fuel efficient, you know the appeasement mindset behind it.
Secondly, people saying that Ola Electric is burning investor money and they need to do this and that need to understand how the industry works. Ola Electric has the technology and product to succeed in the market. It is a product that can actually churn profit, the investors who should be worried are those who have invested in these so called “Unicorns” like Cred, BharatPe or PhonePe. After Paytm IPO, those investors will be more than happy for Ola Electric to burn their money. Ratan Tata is invested in Ola Electric, I am sure the man of his stature knows a thing or two about business.
The product has teething issues, which will go away over time. This happens with every new product in its segment, sometimes even existing products. I mean legacy automakers struggling with DPF issues shouldn’t be a thing considering their vast experience in making cars.
Thirdly, people comparing Bhavish to Elon and all that jazz. The obsession of some Indians with Tesla is next level. Tesla didn’t churn out profit back to back until 2018. This is for a company that was started in 2003 and Elon took over the reign as CEO in 2008. Even in 2018, the major chunk of their profits were coming from selling “Green Credits”.
Tesla has had its fair share of problems and those are persistent till date. The build quality is “third class” as we Indians like to call it, even the Plaid Model S is suffering from quality control issues.
Those who say that Bhavish is not an engineer and if the techies walk out he will be stuck as he is not as smart as Elon. Well Elon is a genius but not genius enough to run the whole engineering program by himself. If anyone has ever been to Tesla’s HQ, they will know that it is safe to call it Mini India.
Elon couldn’t develop full self-driving software till date. Which he has been promising every year for the last 6 or more years. I mean where are the Robo Taxis that were promised. Those who are not aware that the basic Autopilot is just a glorified version of Active Lane Keep Assist, in fact in some cases Chevy’s Super Cruise is even better than that.
Every company showcases new products for the future, if Bhavish teased a car it's nothing wrong. It’s not like he has asked the team working on the scooter to leave its development and work on the car. The product is developed simultaneously in the background. Now those whining about that, I want to ask why Elon showcased Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Tesla Roadster, Tesla Bot, Tesla ATV when they couldn’t even rectify issues with Model 3 like poor build quality, poor heating system, no full self driving system, delayed repair works? I mean there are cases where a newly delivered Model Y had its roof fly off, Model 3 owner car was delivered without brake pads installed, Model X constant door failures. Forget about that, most of those products couldn't even meet the deadline that was promised. People with 6 figure deposits are still waiting for their roadsters.
If Ola halted the production of Ola S1 scooter to fulfil the demand of S1 Pro first, then that is an issue, but if Elon cancelled the Model S Plaid+, cancelled the Model Y Standard Range, cancelled the $35,000 Model 3, free supercharging for life cancelled, then that is not a problem because Lord Elon said so. Those who are not aware, Tesla prioritises higher spec models first when delivering cars, Model Y performance with paid paint options and white seats were delivered first and Long Range options went into production later. Same goes for new Model S and X where Plaid versions are being delivered first and Long Range takes the back seat.
Elon himself has spoken out against traditional automakers and journalists who have criticized electric cars and intentionally rigged results to showcase how owning electric cars is a hassle. So if Bhavish has spoken out in new age fashion then I don’t see what fuss is about. If Elon responds with a meme then he is called meme lord and praised for his humor, but if Bhavish does it then how dare he?
The problem is in the mindset some of us have that if someone does it in the western world then he is right, but if someone calls out the same thing in our country then the guy punching way above his weight. It’s time we Indians extend the same courtesy to our own talent that we extend to the people in the west. |