Tesla's Optimus Robot Program Head Milan Kovac Departs, Raising Questions About Project's Future

Tesla's Optimus robot VP is reportedly leaving the company | TechCrunch

The head of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot program, Milan Kovac, is leaving the company according to Bloomberg News. The departure comes as Tesla CEO Elon Musk has claimed the company will have "thousands" of Optimus robots operating in its factories by the end of this year. "And we expect to scale Optimus up faster than any product, I think, in history, to get to millions of units per year as soon as possible," Musk said last month. Kovac has worked at Tesla for nearly 10 years, with much of that time coming as a top engineer on the Autopilot team. He was tapped to help lead development of Optimus in 2022 and became a vice president overseeing the program in late 2024. "I'm driving the Optimus program (Tesla's humanoid robot) & all its engineering teams," Kovac previously wrote on his LinkedIn profile. "Separately, I'm also driving the engineering teams responsible for all the software foundations & infrastructure common between Optimus and Autopilot." Ashok Elluswamy, the vice president of Tesla's AI software division, will take over the Optimus project according to Bloomberg.

Elon Musk's Tesla Optimus Robot Program Head Milan Kovac Steps Down - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Milan Kovac, the head of Tesla Inc.'s TSLA Optimus humanoid robot program, has announced his resignation. Kovac, who has been instrumental in leading the initiative since 2022, cited family commitments as the reason for his departure. His announcement was made on X on Friday. What Happened: Kovac announced his exit from the company on a post on X on Friday. Kovac, who became vice president of the Optimus program in September last year, stated, "I've been far away from home for too long, and will need to spend more time with family abroad. I want to make it clear that this is the only reason." According to a report by Bloomberg, Ashok Elluswamy, who currently leads Tesla's autopilot teams, will take over Kovac's responsibilities. Elon Musk had previously indicated plans to produce thousands of Optimus robots this year, despite challenges such as China's export restrictions on rare-earth magnets. The company is prioritizing the launch of these robots and its robotaxi service, which are crucial to Tesla's future valuation. Musk emphasized to CNBC, "The only things that matter in the long term are autonomy and Optimus." See Also: Elizabeth Warren Says Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Will 'Rip Away' Health Coverage From 16 million Americans -- Just So Jeff Bezos Can Buy A Third Yacht Why It Matters: The departure of Kovac comes at a critical time for Tesla's Optimus project. The company has been making significant strides in humanoid robotics, with Elon Musk revealing that the Optimus robot is developing the ability to learn tasks by watching videos, similar to human learning patterns. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently stated that Tesla's Optimus could be the first humanoid robot to achieve mass adoption, potentially triggering a multi-trillion-dollar industry. However, the project faces challenges, including supply chain constraints and China's new export restrictions on rare earth materials, as highlighted by Musk during Tesla's first-quarter earnings call. Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Read Next: Trump-Musk Feud May Not End Anytime Soon As President Says He Has No Plans To Speak To The Tesla CEO Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock TSLATesla Inc$297.684.56%Stock Score Locked: Edge Members Only Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Unlock RankingsEdge RankingsMomentum92.07Growth91.86Quality86.74Value9.28Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs