Bhavish Aggarwal goes full Elon Musk: Ola staff now mandated to send weekly reports in ‘Kya Chal Raha Hai?’ initiative

Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal has introduced a new reporting system for employees across his companies, requiring them to submit weekly updates directly to him and their managers.

The reporting system is dubbed 'Kya Chal Raha Hai?' or 'What’s going on?' and the initiative was announced through an internal email.

According to the mail, Aggarwal emphasised that all employees must adhere to the mandate without exception, reported the news portal Moneycontrol.

As per the report, the initiative, which mirrors a recent directive by tech billionaire Elon Musk demanding weekly reports from U.S. federal employees through the Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE) which Musk is heading under the new Donald Trump administration, was implemented immediately.

Employees were given a first deadline at the end of the day following the announcement, with subsequent reports due every Sunday.

“We're starting 'Kya Chal Raha Hai?' — a simple way to share your weekly updates directly with me and your managers, starting today,” Aggarwal wrote in his email.

He instructed employees to send a brief report with 3-5 bullet points summarising their accomplishments for the previous week. The updates are to be sent to their managers and the designated email ID, Kyachalrahahai@olagroup.in, using the subject line 'Weekly updates', the report claimed.

The new reporting mandate comes at a time when Ola Electric is undergoing a major internal restructuring exercise, which has resulted in significant layoffs. According to Bloomberg, approximately 1,000 employees from sales, distribution, and marketing departments have been fired from the company.

The restructuring exercise comes amidst losses widening at Ola Electric.

Ola Electric's net loss widened to ₹564 crore in the third quarter of FY25, up from ₹376 crore in the same period last year.

During an analyst call following the earnings announcement, Aggarwal stated that the company aims to achieve EBITDA break-even in its auto business once it reaches monthly sales of 50,000 units.

"The timeline for this depends on market conditions and EV adoption, but we are optimistic," he said.

The company’s January sales stood at 24,376 EVs, according to government data from the Vahan portal. In February, Vahan recorded 8,647 registrations, but Ola Electric claimed it sold over 25,000 units, maintaining a market share of more than 28%. The discrepancy arose due to the company’s renegotiation of contracts with vehicle registration agencies, which briefly impacted Vahan-reported figures. Ola said the renegotiation was aimed at reducing costs and streamlining the registration process.