Tesla loses head of Optimus robot program

Milan Kovac, a Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) vice president in charge of the company’s Optimus humanoid robot program, is resigning due to personal reasons in a setback to CEO Elon Musk’s plans to transform the EV maker into a robotics and AI-driven firm.

In an X post late Friday, Kovac announced the decision, while Bloomberg News, which first reported the development, said his resignation would take effect immediately, with Ashok Elluswamy, currently the vice president of Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Autopilot and AI software team, expected to replace him.

Musk, who also leads space exploration company SpaceX (SPACE), once stated that Optimus humanoid robots, which his company plans to sell for about $20,000 apiece, could one day lift Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) market value to $25T.

“I’ve been far away from home for too long and will need to spend more time with family abroad,” Kovac said, adding, “I want to make it clear that this is the only reason and has absolutely nothing to do with anything else.”

Kovac, who joined Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Autopilot team as an engineer in 2016, was made the head of its Optimus team in early 2022. “It’s been so humbling to work with such talented people, Kovac noted. “My support for Elon Musk and the team is ironclad.”