Ola Electric: Broken Trust

When Bhavish Aggarwal, founder of Ola Electric, took the company public, he set an audacious vision: Ola would lead India’s EV transition and become a global player built on gigafactories, battery innovation, and large-scale manufacturing.

It was a powerful narrative; ambitious, confident, transformational. And it created enormous hype.

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Young investors believed they were buying into India’s EV revolution. Customers believed they were getting a world-class electric scooter. Expectations shot through the roof.

But as the year unfolded, the gap between vision and reality became apparent as quality issues surfaced, service across India broke down, and the promises did not match the on-ground experience.

This was no longer just Ola Electric’s business story. It became a story of broken trust — a brand that sold a dream and delivered an experience that shattered faith.

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The Experience That Broke Trust

Customers loved the idea of an Indian-designed, futuristic EV scooter. But the experience was anything but futuristic.

Daily complaints poured in about software glitches, sudden shutdowns, inconsistent range, battery issues, and loose panels. These were not rare defects but routine problems. A few fire incidents further eroded confidence and raised serious safety concerns.

And when customers needed help, support often didn’t arrive. Too few service centres, long waiting periods, unavailable parts, and untrained technicians left riders stranded with a scooter they couldn’t repair or rely on. A product that promised confidence ended up delivering anxiety.

A brand can survive defects, but it cannot survive unhappy customers who feel ignored.

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The Numbers That Shattered Credibility

The trust deficit widened when Ola’s reported numbers failed to match official data. The company claimed over 25,000 scooters sold in February, while VAHAN showed barely 8,600 registrations for the same period. Government agencies flagged the mismatch, raising questions around reporting practices.

For customers and investors, this gap between claims and verified registrations was not just a discrepancy; it was a loss of trust in the company’s credibility. Despite mounting issues, Ola kept pushing big claims and bigger targets. The reality simply did not match the story.

A brand can survive technical issues, but it cannot survive credibility issues.

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Reality Hits the Stock Price

And this credibility gap did not stay confined to customers. It eventually hit where it always hits hardest — the market.

Ola’s IPO arrived with enormous hype. Young investors rushed in, driven by the idea of “India’s Tesla,” and the narrative was irresistible. When the company listed in August 2024 at around ₹76, expectations were sky-high. The stock soared to an all-time high of ₹157, more than doubling from the IPO price.

But the market is ruthless. It rewards numbers, not narratives.

Weak financials, high cash burn, inconsistent volumes, service breakdowns, and trust concerns all collided. Today, the stock trades near ₹36, wiping out more than 70% of its value and leaving many first-time investors staring at 40–50% losses.

This was not just a stock price correction. It was a reminder that hype never survives hard numbers, and the market eventually finds the truth.

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The Lesson Every Founder Must Learn

Ola Electric’s story is not just about EVs or technology. It is about execution, credibility, and the unspoken contract every brand signs with its customers and investors: deliver what you promise.

The lesson is simple and unforgiving: you can build hype, raise money, scale fast, but without delivering on the promise, you can not win trust.

In business, trust is the real electric power. Lose it, and everything else stops moving.

Ola Electric is not a failure. But it is a stark reminder that trust once lost is almost impossible to regain.

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“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” — Warren Buffett

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-- Pady