Summary
- Milan Kovac, Tesla’s Director of Optimus and Autopilot Engineering, has been promoted to Vice President of Optimus (Tesla Bot)
- Kovac has been with Tesla for 8 years and 7 months, starting as a Staff Software Engineer and progressing to various leadership roles
- Under Kovac’s leadership, Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot has evolved into a Gen 2 bipedal machine capable of autonomous work in the company’s factories
- Kovac’s promotion to Vice President of Optimus was not widely publicized, and he was already in this role during Tesla’s recent "We, Robot" event
- Elon Musk wanted to keep the "We, Robot" event high-level and did not have Kovac and another executive present, likely to prevent competitors from gaining insights into Tesla’s innovations.
Article
Milan Kovac, Tesla’s Director of Optimus and Autopilot Engineering, has been promoted to Vice President of Optimus (Tesla Bot) as per an update on his personal LinkedIn page. Kovac, much like Tesla’s Director of Autopilot Software Ashok Elluswamy, who was recently promoted to Vice President of AI Software, is a veteran of the company’s Autopilot team, having worked for Tesla for over 8 years.
Kovac began his career at Tesla in April 2016 as a Staff Software Engineer for the Autopilot team and quickly climbed the ranks, being promoted to Engineering Manager of Autopilot Software after just three months. He continued to rise within the company, becoming Senior Engineering Manager of Autopilot Software in less than two years and eventually Director of Autopilot Software Engineering in May 2019 before being promoted to Vice President of Optimus.
Under Kovac’s leadership, Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot has evolved from a concept to a fully functional Gen 2 bipedal machine capable of autonomous operation in the company’s factories. Despite the substantial progress made under Kovac’s supervision, it was revealed that his promotion to Vice President of Optimus had occurred back in September 2024, prior to Tesla’s “We, Robot” event that took place recently.
There were discussions regarding the possibility of Ashok Elluswamy and Milan Kovac presenting at the “We, Robot” event, with pitches being made to CEO Elon Musk. However, Musk decided to keep the event at a high level, potentially to avoid revealing too much information that could be utilized by competitors. This decision aligns with Musk’s previous statements about competitors closely watching Tesla events for potential innovations.
Overall, Milan Kovac’s promotion to Vice President of Optimus highlights his significant contributions to Tesla’s development of autonomous technologies and humanoid robots. With his extensive experience within the company’s Autopilot team and proven track record of leadership, Kovac’s promotion signifies a key milestone in Tesla’s ongoing efforts to push the boundaries of innovation in the electric vehicle and robotics industries.
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