It never rains, but it pours, as they say.
Just as Tesla grapples with its worst single-day stock plunge, wiping out a staggering $150 billion in market value, CEO Elon Musk has suffered another blow: the departure of Optimus project leader Milan Kovac.
A Tesla veteran of a decade, Kovac played a pivotal role, beginning with autopilot and then leading the Optimus project from its inception. Musk, in a characteristic online gesture, expressed his gratitude for Kovac’s extraordinary contributions over the past 10 years via a tweet.
As for the reason for Kovac’s departure, he cited a desire to dedicate more time to his family, stating the decision was unrelated to Tesla or Elon Musk.
However, the move is undoubtedly a setback for a Tesla and Musk already navigating a period of turbulence.
As the saying goes…
Milan Kovac: Leading Optimus from Concept to Factory Floor
Milan Kovac, a 2008 electrical engineering graduate, began his career in the gaming industry.
His early experience included working at SoftKinetic, a Belgian action recognition company, and later developing vision components for Intel.
After SoftKinetic was acquired by Sony four years later, Kovac joined Tesla in April 2016. He stepped into the Autopilot core team, specializing in managing the underlying processes of the Autopilot system. His roles evolved to include autopilot software manager, senior engineering manager, and ultimately, head of autopilot software engineering.
In 2022, Kovac ascended to the role of Optimus project lead. Under his direction, Tesla’s humanoid robot advanced from a concept into a fully functional second-generation bipedal robot, now able to operate autonomously within Tesla factories.
Just last September, he was appointed Optimus VP, driving advancements in the robot’s dexterous hands, nearing the freedom of movement of human hands, and implementing state-of-the-art reinforcement learning to boost Optimus’ autonomy.
As shown in official videos, Optimus has demonstrated impressive balance on rough terrains. Its gait is more natural, mirroring human movement compared to earlier iterations.
Moreover, Optimus recently achieved a major milestone, transferring a significant portion of learning directly from first-person human videos to the robot, thus accelerating the deployment of new skills.
The next goals include expanding to third-person video perspectives captured randomly by cameras while improving reliability through reinforcement learning.
Throughout his tenure at Tesla, Milan Kovac’s expertise in Optimus and Autopilot software made him a central figure in the integration of AI and robotics.
But there was a point when Kovac considered leaving Tesla.
Musk decided to create the Optimus robot and showcased it during the AI Day in 2021. He assigned the software work to Kovac.
Following a PPT presentation by Kovac, Musk, finding it “boring,” expressed dissatisfaction and offered critical feedback.
Kovac, disappointed, considered leaving Tesla. However, a rehearsal glitch led to a change of course.
Before he could walk out the door, Kovac was convinced to stay by VP of Engineering Lars Moravy, and after a few drinks, the situation was resolved. Kovac subsequently presented a condensed PPT version, and remained at Tesla for four more years.
Tesla has not yet released an official statement regarding the specific reasons for Kovac’s departure. He has merely said that he wants to spend more time with his family.
In his parting message, Kovac reflected on his decade-long career at Tesla, including the iterative advancements in multiple generations of Autopilot computers and software. He also shared that the inception of Optimus brought its difficulties.
“In early 2022, we had nothing but a pair of inverted Kuka arms. We had to build the entire platform at once: hardware and software,” he said.
He also thanked his colleagues at Tesla, particularly Musk, saluting him for his unwavering guidance and the lessons learned in discerning signals from noise, hard core resilience, and core engineering principles.
Finally, Kovac had a message of confidence:
“Tesla will win, I promise you.”
According to Bloomberg, current Tesla AI Software VP Ashok Elluswamy will succeed Kovac.
Ashok Elluswamy and Milan Kovac were both promoted by Musk at around the same time last year.
Elluswamy, who previously interned at Volkswagen, was Tesla’s first autopilot employee. He pioneered the use of occupancy networks, furthering the state of the industry.
Just five days earlier, Musk had hailed both as “key figures” in the company’s AI operations.
With a key executive stepping down, what does this all mean for Musk and Tesla?
Tesla is facing challenges.
In this era of embodied intelligence, the prominence of Optimus becomes all the more important, especially with competitors like Boston Dynamics, 1X, Figure, and Agility Robotics making significant strides.
Musk has revealed that in recent weeks, Tesla has been training its Optimus system to accomplish “primitive tasks” such as picking up objects, opening doors, and throwing balls.
Back in April, Optimus demonstrated its walking capabilities, garnering over 30 million views. According to Kovac, the technology relied on a reinforcement learning simulation. In the wake of the video’s success, Tesla actively recruited an AI team, which includes a range of highly skilled individuals.
Musk projected that Tesla might take Optimus to Mars next year, adding that if the landing went well, human transportation could occur in the years between 2029 and 2031.
But let’s take a step back.
Practical objectives were outlined in Tesla’s first-quarter investor report this year. The company plans to begin producing Optimus on a pilot production line in Fremont and deploy the robots more extensively within its factories, completing useful tasks. By the end of this year, the factory is projected to house “thousands” of Optimus robots.
Production capacity is expected to hit one million units annually by 2030.
Musk noted in an interview that in the long term, autonomy and Optimus are all that matter.
At Tesla’s shareholder meeting last year, Musk, self-described as pathologically optimistic, asserted that humanoid robots would eventually lift the company’s market capitalization to $25 trillion.
There is now uncertainty with the departure of the project leader and its effect on the company’s development. This is particularly relevant to Tesla, which is going through a “challenging period.”
The company’s first-quarter revenue of $19.34 billion reflected a 9% year-over-year decrease. Revenue from its automotive business dropped by 20% . Operating profit for Q1 was $399 million, a 66% year-over-year decline.
To make matters worse, there are predictions by Bloomberg that Tesla’s electric vehicle deliveries are expected to fall owing to a significant decrease in demand.
Musk is indeed having a tough time.
Original article, Author: Tobias. If you wish to reprint this article, please indicate the source:https://aicnbc.com/1982.html
