Shock exit: Optimus lead departs on cusp of Mars mission & Gen 3 reveal

[Chris]

Optimus Gen 3 concept by Grok

• Chris
• Jun 6, 2025

Tesla’s head of Optimus development, Milan Kovac, has just announced his departure from Tesla.
Kovac will be replaced by Tesla’s Autopilot head, Ashok Elluswamy according to media outlets.

Kovac lead Optimus development from 2022 and has been with Tesla for a decade.

Kovac has sighted the need to return to be with family abroad, but speculation remains rife on X; with the announcement coming less than 24 hours after Musk’s unhinged outburst towards Trump.

Interestingly the news appeared in the media about an hour before Kovac had a chance to post an official announcement on X. Someone at Tesla is leaking insider info to the press.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1931097888995807554

https://twitter.com/x/status/1931087915557220729

Tesla's Optimus robot VP is leaving the company | TechCrunch

Milan Kovac, head of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot program, is leaving the company to spend more time with family, and he said that his support for Musk and Tesla is "ironclad."

techcrunch.com

 

[Chris]

This will be a major blow to Tesla. Interesting how a reporter from Bloomberg managed to run this headline before Kovac could post on X.
Is this a sign of further turmoil within the Optimus team?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1931107685719740579

https://twitter.com/x/status/1931097554080661938

 

[Chris]

Update from Kovac just now…with some commentary by the Tesla community.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1931368479266943469