- Elon Musk publicly praises Ashok Elluswamy, an Indian-origin engineer, for his role in developing Tesla’s Autopilot technology.
- Elluswamy was the first engineer hired for Tesla’s Autopilot team and played a crucial role in overcoming early challenges.
- Musk acknowledges Elluswamy’s contributions and the team’s achievement in developing computer vision capabilities in-house within a short timeframe.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has publicly recognized the significant contributions of Ashok Elluswamy, an Indian-origin engineer, to the development of Tesla’s Autopilot technology. Elluswamy, who was the first engineer hired for Tesla’s Autopilot team, shared his journey on social media platform X, highlighting Musk’s influence and encouragement in pushing the boundaries of AI and autonomy at Tesla.
In his post, Elluswamy reflected on the early days of the Autopilot project in 2014, recalling the challenges faced while working with limited computing resources. Despite initial skepticism within the team regarding Musk’s ambitious goals, including lane-keeping and vehicle control, Musk’s determination inspired them to achieve these milestones.
By 2016, Tesla had embarked on the task of developing all the computer vision capabilities for Autopilot in-house, a feat that typically took other companies over a decade to accomplish. Against all odds, the Tesla team completed this task within eleven months, showcasing their dedication and Musk’s leadership.
Musk expressed his appreciation for Elluswamy and the entire AI/Autopilot team, crediting them for their contributions to Tesla’s autonomy efforts. He acknowledged Elluswamy’s pivotal role in the team’s success and emphasized the importance of their work in establishing Tesla’s position in the automotive industry.
Thanks Ashok!
Ashok was the first person to join the Tesla AI/Autopilot team and ultimately rose to lead all AI/Autopilot software.
Without him and our awesome team, we would just be another car company looking for an autonomy supplier that doesn’t exist.
Btw, I never… https://t.co/7eBfzu0Nci
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2024
