The Myth of India’s Elon Musk: How Arrogance, Anti-Employee Policies & PR Stunts Are Derailing Ola Electric

Once hailed as the poster boy of India’s electric revolution, Bhavish Aggarwal—the man who calls himself “India’s Elon Musk”—is now witnessing a brutal market reality. With Ola Electric’s market cap crashing by 46% since its IPO and shares nosediving 68% from its 52-week high, the mask of innovation is peeling off to expose the rot underneath: ego, delusion, and toxic leadership.

💣 From Billionaire Dreams to Market Nightmares

Back in August 2024, the company made headlines with a massive ₹402.27 billion market cap. Fast forward to now? It’s bleeding value at ₹217.59 billion. Investors aren’t stupid—they see through the illusion. Behind the glossy EV scooters and choreographed PR photos lies a workplace culture straight out of a dystopian handbook.

👎 Toxic Work Culture: The Real Battery Drain

Here’s a man who doesn’t believe in “employee wellbeing” unless it adds to his personal empire.

Let’s look at Bhavish Aggarwal’s anti-employee hall of shame:

🛑 “Return to Office” Or Be Fired

Employees were forced to abandon remote work abruptly. Zero empathy, zero flexibility. Just a dictatorial email and a not-so-subtle warning: “Come back or don’t come at all.”

🔥 Office Cameras to Spy on Workers

Yes, this actually happened. Internal reports confirm that Bhavish ordered surveillance cameras to monitor employees under the pretense of “productivity.” This isn’t leadership—it’s paranoia.

🧹 Cancelled Weekends, Toxic Hours

Employees slogging 14–16 hours a day, often pulled in for meetings on Sundays and holidays. Mental health? That’s a foreign concept in Ola’s work culture.

📵 No Phones on Campus

Employees were reportedly told not to use phones during work hours. Control freak alert. You’d think they were assembling nuclear weapons, not building electric scooters.

❌ Disrespect Toward Engineers

Engineers who built the product were publicly humiliated. One former Ola Electric employee shared that Bhavish would “yell in meetings and insult people openly.” That’s not passion—it’s bullying with a CEO badge.

🧨 The Delusion of Grandeur: “India’s Elon Musk”?

Let’s be clear: Elon Musk may be a controversial figure, but he built actual rockets, redefined EVs globally, and delivered. Bhavish, on the other hand, is known more for micromanagement and misplaced marketing than meaningful innovation.

Where’s the mass adoption of Ola scooters? Where’s the after-sales support that doesn’t vanish like a ghost? Where are the battery swap stations that were promised?

All we got were PR gimmicks, expensive launch events, and inflated self-comparisons.

📉 PR Stunts Can’t Fix Broken Culture

The recent downfall is not an accident. It’s karma in fast forward. Here’s what the market has realized:

• No transparency with numbers
• Product issues swept under the rug
• Employee churn like a revolving door
• Leadership built on fear, not trust

Now that investors are bleeding and employees are burnt out, Ola Electric’s grand EV dream is turning into a cautionary tale on how not to build a company.

🔚 Final Thoughts: You Can’t Micromanage the Market

When a founder starts believing their own hype, the fall is inevitable. The streets of corporate India are littered with failed CEOs who thought they were gods. Bhavish Aggarwal, it seems, is driving fast in that direction—except this time, he forgot to charge his own batteries.

The market isn’t buying your PR anymore. And neither are the people.

🛑 Reputation isn’t built on soundbites, it’s built on how you treat your people.

Welcome to the real world, Bhavish. The one without NDTV interviews and PR gloss.

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