Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. founder Bhavish Aggarwal, often referred to as the Elon Musk of India, posted a sharp reply to the Tesla chief's claim on a West-exclusive tech breakthrough in the lithium battery production, dismissing the claim.
In a post on X, Elon Musk announced that Tesla has made dry electrode process work at scale, calling it a major breakthrough in lithium battery production technology.
"Making the dry electrode process work at scale, which is a major breakthrough in lithium battery production technology, was incredibly difficult. Congratulations to the @Tesla engineering, production and supply chain teams and our strategic partner suppliers for this excellent achievement!" Musk stated.
To this, Aggarwal replied that they have had their dry coating process working since last year, remarking that world class tech is no longer the domain of the West.
"We got our dry coating process working last year. Lakhs of cells already in vehicles that customers are using. World class tech isn't the domain of the west anymore. The @OlaElectric engineering and manufacturing teams are absolutely world class and it's a privilege for me to work with them," Aggarwal's reply stated.
Making the dry electrode process work at scale, which is a major breakthrough in lithium battery production technology, was incredibly difficult.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 1, 2026
Congratulations to the @Tesla engineering, production and supply chain teams and our strategic partner suppliers for this excellent…
Aggarwal has often found himself in the limelight for following in the footsteps of Musk. Last year in March, the Ola Electric founder drew a lot of flak from netizens for ordering all employees across his companies to submit weekly reports outlining their accomplishments.
The move, titled as 'Kya Chal Raha Hai?' mirrored Musk's controversial policy introduced during his role as the leader of Department of Government Efficiency, which required US federal employees to submit weekly accomplishment reports in simple bullet points.
What Is Dry Electrode Technology?
Dry electrode technology is a next-generation battery manufacturing process that eliminates liquid solvents during electrode coating, making the process faster and less energy consuming.
Conventional lithium-ion battery production relies on solvent-based mixing and long, energy-intensive drying ovens. Dry processing removes these steps entirely, resulting in a simpler, faster manufacturing flow with 20–30% lower energy consumption, zero solvent use, and significantly smaller factory footprints.
Moreover, the process also enables thicker, mechanically stable electrodes with higher active material loading, directly supporting higher energy density at the cell level.
Ola Electric had begun developing dry electrode technology in 2022 and established stable dry anode and cathode formulations through 2023. In January 2024, Ola manufactured its first fully dry 4680-format lithium-ion cell, using both dry anode and dry cathode electrodes, cementing the foundation of Ola's 4680 Bharat Cell.
The EV company has filed nearly 400 patents across cell chemistry, electrode processing, and manufacturing systems underpinning its in-house battery program.
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