Musk Loses Key Ally Following Rift with Trump

CNBC AI News – June 7th – The simmering feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, coupled with a precipitous drop in Tesla’s stock price – wiping out a staggering $150 billion in market value – is now compounded by a key departure within the company.

Adding to the woes, **Milan Kovac, the head of the Optimus robot project, has announced his resignation, marking the loss of a significant figure within Tesla’s ranks.**

Kovac, a Tesla veteran of a decade, began his journey in the company with Autopilot initiatives and played a foundational role in building the Optimus project from the ground up, solidifying his position as a core contributor.

The timing of his departure raises eyebrows. Yet, Kovac has stated his decision is unrelated to Tesla or Musk, attributing it to a desire to spend more time with his family.

Kovac joined Tesla in April 2016 as a core Autopilot team engineer, focusing on the underlying process management of the Autopilot system. He progressed through the ranks, holding positions such as Autopilot Software Engineering Manager, Senior Engineering Manager, and eventually, Head of Autopilot Software Engineering.

**In 2022, he ascended to the role of Optimus project lead, guiding the development of Tesla’s humanoid robot from a concept to a fully functional second-generation bipedal machine capable of autonomously performing tasks *within* Tesla’s own factories, garnering considerable public attention.**

The situation is further complicated by the fact that Musk himself, just five days prior, had publicly lauded Kovac on social media, identifying him as one of the two “key people” behind the company’s AI operations.

This high-profile departure undoubtedly casts a shadow over the company. It injects uncertainty into the trajectory of the Optimus project itself, along with the overall direction of Tesla. Given the circumstances, it seems fair to say Musk is facing a confluence of challenges at the moment.