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Ola's Bhavish Aggarwal & Tesla's Elon Musk
During the BT India@100 Conclave in New Delhi, Bhavish Aggarwal, the Founder and CEO of Ola, suggested that Elon Musk should consider pursuing different business ventures. When asked about comparisons to Tesla's Musk, Aggarwal commented that he’s much younger than him, and he’s someone we all look up to. But he said he’s not sure why he’s venturing into the same businesses.
When asked about comparisons to Elon Musk, he said, "I’m just being myself. I’m much younger than him, and I’m not sure why he’s venturing into the same businesses I’m in. Maybe he should try something new for a change." He added, "I started Krutrim before he launched his AI venture."
Aggarwal also said he prefers the kurta-pyjama over a leather jacket and black polo t-shirts commonly worn by other tech billionaires. He said that Ola aims to revolutionize the digital ecosystem in India and focus on serving the needs of the global south, starting with India.
He highlighted Ola Electric's efforts in establishing the first Gigafactory in India and the goal of Krutrim to pioneer AI technology specifically tailored for India.
Aggarwal stated, “We prefer the kurta-pyjama over a leather jacket any day. If people in Silicon Valley can wear leather jackets and black polo t-shirts, why can’t we wear a kurta and have long hair?”
"Tesla For West, Ola For Rest":
Aggarwal added, “Tesla is for the West, Ola is for the rest.” He explained that with Ola Cabs, Ola Krutrim and Ola Electric, he aims to change the digital ecosystem in India by making it more India-focused.
He said, “The products that companies like Tesla, etc, will build are for the 1 billion rich people. The larger opportunity is to build for the global south, build for India, and then expand to the global south. That's what Ola Electric is doing with our products. We're the first to have a Gigafactory in India. Now with Krutrim, which is our most recent company, just eight months old, the opportunity and ambition is to build India's AI text tech. And for too long in India, we have used global technologies without realising the implication of it.”