[shancz]

Poor taste, lacks basic decency is what appears prima facie.
But probably that's what someone riding high on ridiculous valuations foraying into the world of mobility does when confronted with reality.

The #petrolmedia indicates some behind the scenes issue but tags like those seem too immature or very well thought out for virality depending on how you look, I go with former.

Personally I don't like the general trend in EV two wheelers that just because they have access to good battery and motor, that equates to a good two wheeler. This arrogance stems from ignorance, how I wish these top honchos were riders themselves, IMHO.

Someone doing good in scooters (Ola isn't) cannot even think of success in motorcycles, it's that different a challenge, let alone cars. So some humility goes a long way in determining how you come out of sticky situations, IMHO.

[helterskelter]

Yes, the Burnol tweet comes across as cringeworthy but what about the Sorabjee tweet? I personally think that we don't give too much respect to entrepreneurs. Here is a guy who has basically managed single handedly to give something to think about to the sleeping dinosours of the Indian 2 wheeler industry and instead of encouraging them at every step, half the general public is wishing him to fail.
Elon Musk? God knows we need 2-3 Elon Musks in our country to get it going and shake things up. Sorabjee has nothing to lose whereas Bhavish has got his reputation and money ,whose stakes are higher?

[BigB]

All firsts have issues and Ola is no different. Things should settle down soon from Ola's side.

May be I can guess why, but certain sections of media are after Ola. Ola is disrupting a lot of pre-set equations. Apart from the Tweet of Hormazd Sorabjee, below are some of the links where it is clear that Ola is targeted. May be Ola should start giving ads in media to calm things down . Very rarely you will find media explicitly calling out certain company so loudly.

Take a look at below links and decide.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/au...e-7988541.html

https://www.msn.com/en-in/video/mone...v18/vi-AASxgjZ

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by helterskelter

Sorabjee has nothing to lose whereas Bhavish has got his reputation and money ,whose stakes are higher?

Social media is driven reaction and impressions. I think both people responded impulsively. This will be forgotten in a week.

Thats the new social media world for you!!

[tiagoatrix]

Looks like Mr.Bash has some loose screws between his shoulders that has to be tightened or he is simply too arrogant.

Critics are always going to point out the positive /negative, there was nothing wrong with the tweet from hormazd.
For a CEO of a organisation to label a section as #petrolmedia for criticism is plain arrogant.

How does bavesh commute to work? Using his IC powered car right?

Like I said earlier, I'd chose Uber over Ola for their professionalism.
Ola to survive, should start respecting customers and behave like a Profesional not like a road side bicycle shop.

For a technology that's in its budding stages, one should make their product speak.

[Piyushjaiswal]

Originally Posted by CarNerd

What the Ola CEO is trying to do is to distract the public from this:
Attachment 2265080

Attachment 2265090

It's not even few months that the scooter deliveries began and this guy is already hopping onto a different segment. It's like him saying: "Ola is in a loss, never mind.. I'll start a new business every 6 months". Hormazd is right in pointing out that all such gimmicks by Ola is for valuation and nothing else. Can the CEO answer what will be the future of Ola? I'm sure we'll keep that a secret!

Bang on! Ola is doing anything and everything to get more valuation. They are now into pre-owned car market space as well where they are selling sub standard cars to the end consumer. And as always, if any of the business doesn't work, just exit it and start something different.

Such tweets from the CEO do not inspire confidence into the brand as is and indirectly shows their attitude towards constructive criticism and feedback!

[officer416]

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.

[gk.pavan]

What Mr. Sorabjee did is whataboutery?

OLA has money and can work on two moonshots at a time. We tend to remember only the successful products. But every big company has had its fair share of duds. For a country of our size, we need more dreamers.

The issue with supply chain is plaguing every manufacturer. Unless OLA is not doing enough to sort it out, I don't know how it is wrong for Bhavish to dream of another product.

Who knows, OLA EV might become a bigger winner than anything that Bhavish has touched.

We got to call out issues on shipped products. Nitpicking on products that are not even well rendered, smacks of agenda.

[McLaren Rulez]

Hormazd trying really hard to stay relevant eh? Ola doesn't need to care about these small-minded people - real ambition is rare and whether they succeed or not, Ola has it.

For me, that's worth far more than the cringebags at Autocar India.

[beejay]

This is exactly what they wanted. And it has happened.

Just like the Shark Tank thingy... Well planned scripts and posts and actions., to get people to talk, comment, share and do all of that. Maybe it is the new low.

I respect both of the gentlemen involved in this.. However, I wouldn't be surprised if this too is not just another super marketing stuff.

Don't bite the bait people. Wait a minute, and here I am typing my opinion and adding to it too.

p.s It is just my opinion, and as always I might be false or otherwise.

[vijaykr]

I feel the social media game is mostly carefully managed by the company PR. I think it is unlikely that the Ola chief would have been unaware of the reactions to his reply. It can also be a calculated response to elicit polarising feedback and get the outcome they always were after. Stay in the news and publicity. Any and all visibility, positive or negative, always seems to help with grabbing eyeballs.

Could this have been handled in a civil (my opinion) manner? Absolutely, but if this extended discussion in the media was the endgame to start with, then the objective is being achieved.

If I see the ongoing discourse, it is now less around when Ola will get to actually making and releasing their electric car, but more on the personality of the individual involved, and right/wrong approach etc.

And I've contributed to it as well though I tried to not do it

[FuelInjector]

There have been so many such incisive remarks in the good old days before internet. I personally can think of kb125 launch and suzuki shaolin. But the delay in hearing comments and responding made the difference.
Fast forward 25 years and thanks to social media we are making the world a meaner place by its misuse and abuse.
God bless India.

[sgmuser]

Bringing Autocar India's review style may not be the right approach here. Traditional magazines survive not just by selling print copies alone, but sponsorships and advertisements as well. They need to maintain a fine balance. This applies to any industry. Anandtech which used to be a supreme destination for anything PC hardware, chips etc. always praises Apple products and they have a thing or two to against Android phones (side note: Anand joined Apple few years back) and Anandtech bought over by another company. There are so many examples in the industry and media need to work with the manufacturers for their ad revenue. But I have seen Autocar's review still maintain a standard. It is a multi million dollar business and they can not simply rubbish products (actually they have done this too in certain cases). The issue here is the reputation of Ola. Whole world knows it did face (technology copyright infringement) case with Uber. If one had used Uber and Ola, then they can understand what they are dealing with when it comes to professionalism. Ola is rubbish in many ways and I can keep counting on and on.

For your information, I use taxis in India once a year or so, during my holidays. But this is more than enough to simply write off Ola's culture and their standard. Just one example, while booking a taxi in India, Ola app gave me an estimate of 300 plus and when I reached my destination, I was asked to pay 900 or so. I still couldn't figure out how this happened! A case with Uber. I was in London, booked Uber. The Uber guy reached me but due to congestion he simply did not want to pick up (as I was waiting in the opposite side) and left. I called the customer service immediately and I was refunded immediately. The corporate culture one brings to the company is important. Ola miss this completely and I have experienced this first hand multiple times and many of my friends circle feels the same - the difference between and Ola & Uber. This is coming from the top, I can see clearly when the CEO responds to someone like Sorabjee, well respected by auto biggies, in this way! You failed Bhavish.

Manufacturing a EV scooter by burning few billions is not a big challenge. What you do in EV mobility nowadays is to develop the software, especially in 2 wheelers. God knows how many pre-built components you have in this 2 wheeler you have there. Already two blemishes 1. the incident where your guys mistreated a vlogger when he was just filming the non-existing factory, even though what he was doing is legally wrong, nevertheless a good PR but you turned that into a bad PR! 2. You delivered higher end models Ola S1 scooters to the buyers who booked the lower end model with software lock on the high end features. This shows clearly, you rushed the product to the market, deviated your product plan/development etc. to meet some deadlines or you were worried about your investors. Now, this, 3rd incident shows clearly, immature head in the top and arrogance out of cash pile you are sitting on top. 1000s of e-scooter OEMs are in China. Just saying! But car is not a joke. See the struggle of Mahindra, Rivian (yet to start the delivery and sitting on top of 1000s of pre-orders from Amazon for delivery trucks), Tata, Tesla (delivery issues) or for that case, Hyundai (Kona fire incidents). For me, Ola EV car is a joke! We will come to know in few years. And, please do not compare this guy with Elon. He is not just an engineer but he is so passionate about what he is doing. He had proven that as well with cars, rockets and what not. The only saving grace for Ola is its ride hailing app which itself is a copy and that is why Uber managed to own some Ola shares.

Finally, a CEO acting in public as if he is not aware of this car leak is THE biggest joke of this year!

[tanbeamer]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Hormazd has a point, but if Ola has been able to churn out the Electric Scooter and catch the fancy of the public, no reason to not give a chance with respect to cars. A lot of the game changing innovations have happened because someone had the guts to 'jump before they crawled'

All of this would have been well accepted had Ola electric churned out scooters in consistent numbers while maintaining a standard level of quality. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case and thus Mr. Sorabjee is absolutely right in calling him out.

Also as far as the petrol media comment goes, I guess it was the same petrol media that gave out reviews for the likes of Nexon EV, Mercedes Benz EQS, Audi E-Tron to name a few with the same level of honesty and passion as they did for ICE vehicles.

This has been nothing but plain toxicity by Ola's CEO

[84.monsoon]

Young, Arrogant, Audacious, Disruptive...The Indian Unicorn and Deacon founders have to keep up a front such as this, whether they like it or not. They will create a revolution or go up in smoke in the process, it is unfashionable and unattractive to be anything in between! Sad part is you can be all that and succeed if you your product is all digital but where the virtual rubber meets the physical road, these guys struggle as we saw with their scooter launches so far. Hormazd got burnt for speaking up about the truth unfortunately!