The head of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot program leaves the company

Milan Kovac, who leads Tesla‘s Optimus humanoid robotics program, is leaving the automaker. In a post on X, Milan talked about how he joined Tesla as an engineer for the core Autopilot team in 2016 and how he started leading the Optimus group in 2022. He explained that he’s leaving his position, because he’s “been far away from home for too long and will need to spend more time with family abroad.” Kovac stressed that it was the only reason he’s leaving and that his support for Elon Musk and the Tesla team was “ironclad,” perhaps insinuating that his decision had nothing to do with Musk’s politics or recent fallout with the president.

Tesla first announced that it was working on a humanoid robot in 2021, though it wasn’t able to debut an actual prototype until a year a later in 2022. Musk said back then Optimus will be able to move at 5 mph and carry loads up to 45 pounds. He also said that he expects it to sell for $20,000 each when built at volume and claimed that the machines can give the company a $25 trillion market cap. Since then, Tesla has demonstrated Optimus’ ability to handle an egg, cook meals, fold the laundry and throw the trash. The robot doesn’t have a solid release date yet. Musk said back in April that the robot’s production had been affected by China’s export restrictions of rare earth magnets, so it’s most likely not going to be anytime soon.

Bloomberg, which reported Kovac’s departure first, said he’s leaving the company immediately. Ashok Elluswamy, who’s leading the company’s Autopilot group, is taking over his responsibilities.

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