Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Vice President of Autopilot and AI, has emerged as the driving force behind the automaker’s ambitious shift into autonomous ride‑hailing.
A proud Chennai-born engineer and Carnegie Mellon alumnus, Elluswamy was Tesla’s very first Autopilot team member—hired in 2014—and has since climbed to lead the division responsible for Full Self‑Driving (FSD), Robotaxi, Optimus, and broader AI initiatives .
Under Elluswamy’s leadership, Tesla built its AI chip and software teams from the ground up, bypassing external autonomy providers.
Since 2019, he’s overseen all Autopilot and AI software, transforming Tesla into a key player in the global AI landscape.
Elon Musk himself lauds Elluswamy’s contributions, crediting him with making Tesla “more than just a car company,” and ensuring it wouldn’t be “another car company looking for an autonomy supplier that doesn’t exist”.
In recent interviews—one on the Gobinath podcast and another with Indian media—Elluswamy offered candid assessments. He acknowledged that while Tesla’s camera‑only FSD costs far less than lidar‑based rivals like Waymo, it remains behind in achieving generalized autonomy, estimating Tesla trails by a couple of years.
He’s also been a central advocate for the upcoming Robotaxi launch. In May 2025, he shared Tesla’s vision: leveraging existing Model Y vehicles, a hardened AI stack, and Tesla’s in‑house chips to deliver a smoother, more scalable ride‑hailing solution.
That vision became reality in June 2025, with the first Robotaxi rides commencing in Austin—an invite‑only, geofenced experience monitored by his AI team.
At the core, Elluswamy’s engineering acumen and strategic foresight are shaping Tesla’s transformation from electric automaker to AI-driven mobility pioneer. As FSD evolves toward full autonomy and the Robotaxi service expands, his influence will be central to whether Tesla can fulfill Musk’s promise of affordable, driver‑free transportation for the masses.
With a blend of humility and technical insight, Ashok Elluswamy continues to steer Tesla’s AI efforts—and the broader autonomy revolution—into uncharted territory.
