Tesla Optimus Robot Program Loses VP: Milan Kovac Departs

Milan Kovac, the Vice President in charge of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot program, is leaving the company. This announcement comes at a pivotal time as Tesla aims to deploy thousands of Optimus robots in its factories by the end of the year.

Kovac announced his departure on X, stating that he had to make the “most difficult decision” of his life to leave Tesla. He cited the need to spend more time with family abroad as the primary reason for his decision. Kovac affirmed his continued support for Elon Musk and Tesla, emphasizing that his family commitments were the sole reason for his departure.

“I’ve been far away from home for too long, and will need to spend more time with family abroad,” he wrote. Kovac said that was “the only reason” and that his support for Musk and Tesla is “ironclad.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has ambitious plans for Optimus, stating the company expects to scale Optimus up faster than any product in history, aiming for millions of units per year as soon as possible. Kovac’s departure introduces uncertainty into the project’s leadership during this critical phase.

Kovac has been with Tesla for almost a decade and has played a vital role in the Autopilot team. He transitioned to leading the Optimus development in 2022 and was promoted to Vice President overseeing the program in late 2024. His responsibilities included leading the engineering teams responsible for the software foundations and infrastructure shared between Optimus and Autopilot.

According to Bloomberg, Ashok Elluswamy, the vice president of Tesla’s AI software division, will be taking over the Optimus project.

This story has been updated with information from Kovac’s X post about his departure.