Tesla AI executive says: 2026 will be the toughest year for employees
According to reports, last month Tesla's AI software vice president Elluswamy stated at a meeting: "If you work in Tesla's artificial intelligence team, next year will be the toughest year of your life." The report mentioned that the nearly two-hour all-hands meeting was positioned as a "call to action," during which leaders at all levels of the AI department communicated specific goals to employees. These goals are related to whether Musk's new compensation plan this month can be realized
Tesla's Vice President of AI Software, Ashok Elluswamy, warned employees during an all-hands meeting that 2026 will be the "toughest year" of their careers.
On November 13, media reports indicated that last month, Elluswamy stated during an all-hands meeting for the Autopilot and Optimus teams:
If you work in Tesla's AI team, next year will be the toughest year of your life.
Elluswamy urged employees to prepare to work with unprecedented intensity to achieve the company's goals.
Reports cited informed sources revealing that last month's all-hands meeting was positioned as a "call to action." During this nearly two-hour meeting, leaders at all levels of the AI department communicated specific objectives to employees.
Tesla has set an aggressive timeline for the production of the Optimus robot and the expansion of Robotaxi services. The completion of these goals is directly tied to the compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk, which was just approved by shareholders this month.
The plan includes several ambitious milestones that could make Musk the world's first trillionaire, but only if Tesla makes breakthrough progress on the Robotaxi and Optimus projects.
Aggressive Expansion Timeline
Musk stated during Tesla's earnings call in October that the company plans to operate Robotaxi services in 8 to 10 metropolitan areas by the end of 2025 and deploy over 1,000 autonomous taxis by the end of the year.
Regarding the Optimus robot, Musk indicated that Tesla plans to start production by the end of 2026. He admitted that ramping up to an annual production of 1 million units "will take some time, as the pace will be constrained by the slowest, clumsiest, and least smooth of the 10,000 unique components."
The compensation plan approved by Tesla shareholders this month sets several key metrics, including deploying 1 million Robotaxis on public roads and producing 1 million humanoid robots.
Several compensation consultants previously told the media that this plan is uncommon in the industry but may be key to keeping the billionaire focused on Tesla.
High-Pressure Work Culture
Tesla's Autopilot team has long been one of the company's top priority projects, known for its long working hours.
Reports indicate that the team works in the same office space as the Optimus team but is largely isolated from other engineers, and its organizational structure is kept confidential. Since its inception, it has maintained a tradition of weekly meetings with Musk.
Earlier this year, after the departure of Optimus Vice President Milan Kovac, Elluswamy took over the leadership responsibilities of the team. Since then, the company has shifted the team's focus toward a more camera-dependent technology route, similar to the approach for training fully autonomous driving software.
The Optimus team also maintains weekly meetings with Musk. Musk stated in October that he regularly meets with the team every Friday, "sometimes lasting until midnight." Elon Musk once joked that he needs more Tesla shares because he is not at ease building a "robot army" if he cannot maintain a "strong influence" over the company
