Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal takes a dig at Bajaj Auto MD’s comment: Rajiv Bajaj hits back

It is no secret that the demand for EV two-wheelers is on a steep rise in India. Taking advantage of this surging demand are electric automakers like Ola and Ather, along with many others. However, some people believe that these electric vehicles will not harm the traditional ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles market. One of those people is Rajiv Bajaj, the MD of Bajaj Auto, and one of the people who completely disagrees with him is Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder of Ola Electric. Recently, returning a jab to Ola Electric founder’s recent tweet, Rajiv Bajaj gave a feisty reply that made some headlines.

It all started when recently Ola Electric’s founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal shared a banter tweet on X (formerly Twitter). Aggarwal, in his latest tweet, shared a picture of a glass filled with some ICE cubes. He shared it with a caption stating, “Having some ICE.” Now, for those unaware, Aggarwal has been promoting his company’s motto, “End ICE age,” for a while now. This means that he wants to end the internal combustion engine vehicle age. However, this is something that does not resonate with Bajaj Auto’s MD Rajiv Bajaj.

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So firing back at Ola Electric’s founder’s recent tweet, Rajiv Bajaj recently commented, “It’s funny, something I said two years back is still hanging in the air. I met Bhavish Aggarwal once. I like his energy very much. I have positive feelings for him. But I would say this — sometimes if you don’t sound too good, maybe you have a bad throat from taking on too much ICE. So, be careful how much ICE you take on at one time.”

The Bajaj Auto chief also followed this comment by stating that neither Rajiv Bajaj nor Bhavish Aggarwal can decide what is better for customers. He added that even the government cannot decide this. Bajaj stated that it is the customer who has the power to decide what moves ahead in the market. He also added that it is the customer itself who gives the auto firms the license to make something or take away the license.

Origin of these comments

For those not in the know-how of the friendly rivalry between these two automotive company chiefs, they have been going at it for a while now. It all started during the launch of the Bajaj Pulsar twins back in 2021. At the time, Rajiv Bajaj shared a comment stating, “There is a saying, breakfast of the champions. Champions eat OATS for breakfast. OATS stands for Ola Ather, Tork, and Smart E,” he added. “Indian two-wheeler makers have battled the Japanese very successfully. In the 150cc and above sports motorcycle category, Enfield, Bajaj, and TVS have 70-80 percent share. We are not lightweight.”

Two years later, recently while in an interview with an esteemed media outlet, this comment made a return. Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal was asked about what he has for breakfast. To this, he replied, “I put ICE cubes in my drink, and enjoy sipping it.” He followed his comment by adding that, “ICE cubes will melt when we roll out EV cars.”

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