Indian-origin Ashok Elluswamy to move Tesla’s Optimus robotic challenge – Firstpost

Milan Kovac, head of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robotic programme, introduced on Friday that he’s stepping right down to spend extra time together with his household overseas.

Kovac, who led the programme since 2022 and have become a vice chairman final yr, stated in a publish on X that his departure is only for private causes.

In response to Bloomberg Information, Kovac is leaving the function instantly. His duties can be taken over by Ashok Elluswamy, who at present heads Tesla’s Autopilot group.

Elon Musk had earlier stated Tesla aimed to provide hundreds of Optimus robots this yr, however progress was affected by China’s export restrictions on rare-earth magnets.

An outdated tweet by Elon Musk about Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of AI, has gone viral once more. On June 2, 2025, Musk reshared his 2015 publish that stated, “Ramping up the Autopilot software program group at Tesla to attain generalized full autonomy. If , contact autopilot@teslamotors.com.”

This tweet 9 years in the past was how I began the Autopilot, now AI, group at Tesla.

Ashok, who now leads the group, was the primary individual I interviewed.

Milan, who leads Optimus, additionally joined very early.

Lots of the key individuals in Tesla AI have been there from the start. https://t.co/yck84sSS0X

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 2, 2025

Within the publish, Elon Musk stated Ashok Elluswamy was the primary individual he interviewed when constructing Tesla’s Autopilot group. Musk wrote, “This tweet 9 years in the past is how I began the Autopilot, now AI, group at Tesla. Ashok, who now leads the group, was the primary individual I interviewed. Milan, who heads Optimus, additionally joined early. Many key individuals in Tesla AI have been there from the beginning.”