A robotics engineer with a specialisation in computer vision, perception, planning, and control, Ashok Elluswamy has been crucial for whatever success Tesla has had with its Autopilot AI
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to X, his social media app, to praise Ashok Elluswamy, an Indian-origin engineer, for his crucial role in developing Tesla’s Autopilot technology. Elluswamy, who was the first engineer hired for Tesla’s Autopilot team, shared his journey on social media platform X, shedding light on Musk’s significant influence and encouragement in advancing AI and autonomous driving at Tesla.
Elluswamy also went on to say that without Musk’s leadership and encouragement, the EV maker wouldn’t have achieved the great heights it did.
Reflecting on the early days of the Autopilot project in 2014, Elluswamy described the initial challenges faced by the team. They worked with extremely limited computing resources—only about 384 KB of memory. Despite scepticism within the team about Musk’s ambitious goals for lane-keeping, lane-changing, and vehicle control, Musk’s relentless drive pushed them to achieve these milestones.
By 2016, Tesla had decided to develop all the computer vision capabilities for Autopilot in-house, a task that usually took other companies over a decade to accomplish. Remarkably, the Tesla team managed to complete this within eleven months, showcasing their dedication and Musk’s leadership.
Musk reshared Elluswamy’s post, expressing his gratitude and admiration for his work. Musk acknowledged Elluswamy and how he led the AI/Autopilot team to where it stands today, stating, “Without him and our awesome team, we would just be another car company looking for an autonomous supplier that doesn’t exist.”
Elluswamy’s journey with Tesla began after Musk put out a tweet looking for candidates for the Autopilot team. The Indian-origin robotics engineer has been with the company for nearly a decade, rising to lead all AI/Autopilot software.
Musk acknowledged Elluswamy’s role in Tesla’s growth. “Thanks, Ashok!” he wrote, before diving in to explain how Elluswamy went on to explain that Ashok was Tesla’s first hire to join the Tesla AI/Autopilot team. Following years of service and development, Elluswamy ultimately rose to lead all AI/Autopilot software development.
Musk believes that without Elluswamy and the team he leads Tesla would have been just another car company looking for an autonomy supplier that doesn’t exist.
Elluswamy, a robotics engineer with a specialisation in computer vision, perception, planning, and control, earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Communication from the College of Engineering, Guindy in Chennai. He later studied robotics systems development at Carnegie Mellon University in the US. Before joining Tesla, he worked with WABCO Vehicle Control Systems and Volkswagen.
