Bhavish Aggarwal, an Indian billionaire and the founder of Ola, a popular ride-hailing service, is making big waves in the electric vehicle (EV) world. His new goal? To challenge Elon Musk and Tesla by offering affordable electric cars for people in developing countries.
Aggarwal, who also heads Ola Electric, recently made headlines by announcing his ambitious plan. He believes that while Tesla caters mainly to wealthy customers in the West, Ola is focused on providing affordable EVs for the Global South—regions including India, Africa, and Southeast Asia. His catchphrase? “Tesla is for the West, Ola is for the rest.”
Ola Electric has already made a name for itself by producing electric scooters and other EV components. Their recent stock market debut was a huge success, with shares skyrocketing nearly 82% in just two weeks. This success pushed the company’s value to over $7 billion, making it one of India’s most exciting new public companies.
Aggarwal, whose fortune is around $1.4 billion, is often compared to Elon Musk, who has a staggering net worth of $228 billion. The comparison is partly because Ola started as a ride-hailing service but has now ventured into the EV and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors. In fact, Aggarwal’s company recently launched Krutrim, an AI startup that’s quickly gaining attention.
Krutrim, named after the Sanskrit word for “artificial,” is a standout in India’s tech scene. It’s the first Indian AI startup to reach unicorn status (a privately-held company worth over $1 billion). Krutrim has developed an AI language model that supports ten Indian languages and is expanding to 22. They are also working on building AI data centers and plan to release their own AI chip by 2026.
At a recent event, Aggarwal took a jab at Musk, suggesting that Musk should explore new business ideas. He pointed out that he started Krutrim before Musk launched his AI venture, hinting that Musk might want to try something different.
Aggarwal’s vision for Ola Electric is clear: he wants to make India a global hub for electric vehicles and provide affordable options for people in developing countries. As he pushes forward with this mission, the battle between Ola and Tesla is heating up, and the world is watching to see how this high-stakes rivalry unfolds.
