Tesla Optimus chief Milan Kovac resigns, thanks Elon Musk in his farewell post on Twitter: ‘You have taught me to…’

Tesla’s head of the Optimus humanoid robot project, Milan Kovac, has announced his resignation, saying he needs to spend more time with family abroad. The move comes at a crucial time for Tesla as it doubles down on autonomous technology and robotics as key parts of its future. Sharing the news in a post on X, Kovac writes “I’ve been far away from home for too long, and will need to spend more time with family abroad. I want to make it clear that this is the only reason, and has absolutely nothing to do with anything else.”

Kovac has been with Tesla for over nine years and was promoted to vice president of the Optimus program in September 2024.