Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced a warning letter to Ola Electric over the disclosure of the expansion plan on January 7 via email. The company disclosed its expansion plan on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), prior to informing the exchanges.

The warning was against Chief Executive Bhavish Aggarwal’s announcement of the four-fold expansion plans. On December 20, 2024, Aggarwal wrote on X, “Taking the Electric revolution to the next level this month. Going from 800 stores right now to 4000 stores this month itself. The goal is to be as close to our customers as possible. All stores opening together on 20th Dec across India. Probably the biggest single-day store opening ever!"

The market regulator issued an administrative warning letter under regulations 4(1)(d), 4(1)(f), 4(1)(h) and 30(6) of the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations of SEBI of 2015. The letter stated that Mr. Bhavish Aggarwal disclosed the above information on expansion on social media platform X on December 2, 2024, at 9:58 AM. However, the same was disseminated to BSE at 1:41 PM and NSE at 1:36 PM.

SEBI emphasized the serious nature of the violation. The market regulator advised Ola Electric to exercise caution while disclosing information. Failure to maintain the compliance standards will result in enforcement action under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 provisions and the Rules and Regulations.

Ola Electric had received earlier show cause notification from CCPA (Central Consumer Protection Authority) for alleged violation of consumer rights, false advertisements and trade malpractices. The company, however, iterated that it had resolved 99.1% of the 10,644 complain received from CCPA