Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal used Punjabi epithets with staff, tore presentations: Report

Ola's founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal.

Ola employees have revealed founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal's aggressive and unsparing behaviour at work, which they say has upset board members and managers, according to a Bloomberg report.

Bloomberg said it interviewed over two dozen present and former Ola employees, who chose to remain anonymous fearing reprisal.

Employees said there were instances where Bhavish Aggarwal used Punjabi epithets at staff and told teams they were useless. They also claimed he tore presentation papers and meetings were cut short because he would get angry about either sentence constructions or quality of the paper itself.

Read: Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal doubles down on EVs to undercut Elon Musk

In another incident, Aggarwal reportedly asked an employee to complete three rounds of the sprawling Ola Futurefactory because an entryway that was supposed to be open was shut when he visited, the Bloomberg report said.

Aggarwal told Bloomberg  anger and frustration were "me as a whole".

“Passions and emotions run high and we are not on an easy journey,” he said. “But I don’t want to choose an easier journey for myself or for Ola."

Agarwal has big ambitions for Ola Electric to rival the likes of Elon Musk's Tesla and Chinese conglomerate BYD Company.

Earlier this year, Ola had unveiled the concept images of its first electric car. The company did not reveal its name but said it would become commercially available in 2024.

Read: Ola’s maiden e-car to give 500 km range on a single charge, says CEO Bhavish Aggarwal

"Our car is going to be one of the fastest cars in India – (will accelerate) 0 to 100 (kmph) within 4 seconds (and) it will have a range of more than 500 kilometres per charge," Aggarwal had said.

He said that the perception that India was not ready for world class technologies needed to change.

"We deserve a car that defines this new India. Our car is made in India, by Indians and for the world,” he added.

The company is also pushing scooter sales but has encountered challenges. There have been complaints of faulty batteries and scooters catching fire.