Tesla Reshuffles Engineers After Abruptly Ending Dojo AI Project
The defunct operation, known as Dojo, has been split into parts, with personnel being distributed across several groups. At least some software-focused personnel now report to Ashok Elluswamy, who leads Tesla's AI efforts across robotaxis and humanoid robots, according to people familiar with the matter.
Other engineers working on silicon or semiconductors report to Aaron Rodgers, who oversees hardware for Tesla's autonomous driving efforts and is responsible for its AI5 chip, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing internal changes. Firmware staff are now under Silvio Brugada, who's led security engineering and assumed more responsibility after David Lau departed from his role as head of software engineering.
Representatives of Tesla and Musk didn't respond to requests for comment.
The moves show how Tesla is regrouping after abruptly ending the Dojo project, which revolved around an in-house artificial-intelligence supercomputer for developing driverless-vehicle technology. After Bloomberg News first reported the decision last week, Musk confirmed it on social media, saying on Aug. 10, 'I had to shut down Dojo and make some tough personnel choices.' While he didn't name any individuals involved, Bloomberg reported that Dojo leader Peter Bannon has left the company.
The reshuffling also underscores the growing stature of Elluswamy, who now jointly leads Tesla's programs in AI across autonomous driving and humanoid robotics. A former Autopilot engineer who was named vice president of AI software last year, Elluswamy assumed responsibility for the Optimus robot program following the departure of Milan Kovac in recent months.
It wasn't immediately clear how many Dojo engineers have left Tesla in total. Startup DensityAI which has just come out of stealth, has hired around 20 senior and experienced Tesla engineers, Bloomberg has reported. The company was founded by Ganesh Venkataramanan — the former head of Tesla's Dojo team who left in late 2023 — and ex-Tesla employees Bill Chang and Ben Floering.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
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