Ola Electric event photos leaked, furious CEO Bhavish Aggarwal demands apology from journalist

Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal today got angry and snapped at an auto journalist after confidential images of their new scooters were leaked before launch.

Ola Electric is expected to launch a new e-scooter, reportedly named Ola S1X on August 15. The journalist, whose identity remains hidden, allegedly took the images during a confidential event organised for auto journalists. The company had organised a sneak peek of their new product for the media ahead of its official launch next week.

The CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal expressed his anger as he said such an act also hurts credibility of journalists. "These images were part of an auto media event we held today and content from this event was supposed to be embargoed and confidential. Auto media does their own credibility a massive disservice when they sneakily take photos at a confidential event. Breaks the trust the brand places in them," he said.

Aggarwal further said that such behaviour is unacceptable, “We work really hard to make great products and entertaining events for our customers and delight them. Such instances can’t have any place in a mature ecosystem.”

Ola Electric further warned that the company might not show their products to the media before the customers in future. “Unless it is clear who did this and an apology (which is unlikely), we will not have auto journalists being showcased our products before launch going forward. They will be shown the products only after customers are shown products at launch events,” he added.

Although the EV manufacturer has not revealed any specific details about the rumoured S1X model, reports suggest that it is expected to be priced below Rs 1 lakh. The e-scooter will allegedly run for 100 km on a single charge. The new model will be the fourth e-scooter offering from Ola Electric after the S1 Pro, S1, and S1 Air models.