In 2021, Musk had announced Elluswamy as the first hire for Tesla’s Autopilot team. Elluswamy, who hails from India, earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication from the
Acknowledging his role in Tesla’s growth, Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter): “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.”
Musk’s tweet was a response to Elluswamy’s own note on X, where Elluswamy reflected on Musk's bold vision and relentless perseverance, which proved instrumental in Tesla’s advancements in
Elluswamy further elaborated on how, despite facing scepticism and ridicule from industry experts, Tesla not only succeeded in launching the world’s first Autopilot system, but also committed to an AI-centric approach by moving away from traditional sensors. He emphasised how Musk’s dedication to creating custom AI hardware and pioneering projects like humanoid robots underlines his foresight in pushing the boundaries of real-world AI, ultimately establishing Tesla as a leader in the field.
Tesla’s Autopilot is a sophisticated semi-autonomous driving system that leverages cameras, sensors and radar to assist drivers. It automates certain driving tasks such as steering, acceleration and braking within a lane. Key Autopilot features include adaptive cruise control, lane centering and emergency braking.
Since 2016, Tesla has been developing its AI and computer vision capabilities in-house to power Autopilot. This involves training deep neural networks on raw camera images for tasks like semantic segmentation, object detection and monocular depth estimation. Tesla’s strategy prioritises vision and AI to achieve autonomy, rather than relying on external sensors or high-definition maps.