Tesla's Optimus robot VP is reportedly leaving the company

Core Insights - The head of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot program, Milan Kovac, is leaving the company, which raises questions about the future of the program [1] - Tesla CEO Elon Musk has ambitious plans for the Optimus robots, aiming for "thousands" to be operational in factories by the end of this year and scaling up to millions of units per year [1] - Ashok Elluswamy, vice president of Tesla's AI software division, will take over the Optimus project following Kovac's departure [3] Group 1 - Milan Kovac has been with Tesla for nearly 10 years, primarily as a top engineer on the Autopilot team before leading the Optimus development [2] - Kovac was appointed vice president overseeing the Optimus program in late 2024 [2] - Kovac was responsible for driving the engineering teams for both Optimus and Autopilot software foundations [3] Group 2 - The transition in leadership for the Optimus program may impact the pace and direction of its development [1][3] - Musk's statements indicate a strong commitment to rapidly scaling the production and deployment of Optimus robots [1]