Who is Chennai techie Ashok Elluswamy, set to lead Tesla's humanoid project
Indian-origin engineer Ashok Elluswamy, who currently heads Tesla's Autopilot division, has also been put in charge of the company's Optimus humanoid robot project following the departure of Milan Kovac, the head of engineering for the programme, according to a report in Bloomberg. Elluswamy, who was born and educated in Chennai, was the first engineer to join Tesla's AI/Autopilot team in 2014 and eventually rose to lead all AI and Autopilot software efforts.Tesla has confirmed that Kovac's departure is effective immediately. Stepping in is Elluswamy, who has his roots in Tamil Nadu's Chennai and is a long-time Tesla veteran, with over 11 years of experience at the electric vehicle company.Kovac last week confirmed his departure on X. He described it as "the toughest decision" he had ever made, explaining that he wanted to devote more time to his family."My support for Elon Musk and the team is ironclad – Tesla team forever," he said in a post on X."I've got entire faith in them pushing Optimus to the next level, together with the broader Tesla AI/engineering and production teams. My departure now will not change a thing (sic)," he added in the post.Kovac, in the post on June 7, also expressed his appreciation to his successor Elluswamy and fellow employee Srihari Sampathkumar for their unwavering support throughout their years of collaboration."I want to thank my colleagues Ashok Elluswamy and Srihari Sampathkumar, who've been of tremendous support over the many years we've worked together. But also all the outstanding leaders, engineers, recruiters, technicians, operators, HR partners and everyone I've been blessed to share a part of my life with," Kovac, who has been leading the Optimus initiative since 2022 and was elevated to the role of vice president in September 2024, wrote.In a social media post on June 2, billionaire Elon Musk commended both Kovac and Elluswamy, referring to them as essential figures in Tesla's AI efforts.WHO IS CHENNAI-BORN ASHOK ELLUSWAMY, SET TO LEAD TESLA ROBOT PROJECTAshok Elluswamy, who was born in Chennai, and earned his Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communication from the city's College of Engineering, now lives in San Francisco. He has also been the director of Tesla Autopilot Software since 2019. He holds a Master's degree in Robotic Systems Development from Carnegie Mellon University.Before joining Tesla, he held a position as a software engineer at WABCO Vehicle Control Systems.He also took on a research internship at the Volkswagen Electronic Research Lab, contributing to a project of the German giant's autonomous driving division.advertisementElluswamy's team at Tesla looks after a wide array of domains, like perception, neural networks, fleet-learning, and motion planning, according to a report in the Dubai-based Gulf News.Recently, Elluswamy opened up in an interview about his experience working closely with Elon Musk.Following Elluswamy's takeover, Tesla is reportedly expecting a better integration between its Autopilot AI and Optimus systems."I meet with him every week. He is really smart in the sense that he can predict the future very early. He works really hard. Easily 80–90 hours per week. I feel fortunate to work for him. He is not afraid of taking risks. He is very funny. You can see it in person," Elluswamy said in a podcast with YouTuber Gobinath last month.Elluswamy joined Tesla in 2014 as a software engineer and has been with the company for over a decade.He was promoted to vice president of AI Software last year and continues to work closely with Musk, contributing to Tesla's growth in artificial intelligence.advertisementTesla's Optimus project, launched in 2021, aims to develop humanoids, human-like robots, with plans to produce several thousand units in 2025 for internal factory use.
Tesla, according to reports, aims for broader commercial availability of Optimus humanoid by 2026.
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