Many Indians are working in top companies across the world. They did their initial study in India but later moved abroad for higher education, and eventually got opportunities in big companies such as Google, Meta and Tesla. In this article, we will tell you about the story of Ashok Elluswam, an Indian-origin man, who is the first person hired for Tesla's autopilot team.
Ashok has been working at Elon Musk's Tesla for over 10 years. He is presently the director of Autopilot Software at Tesla. Musk had announced Ashok as the first hire for Tesla’s Autopilot team in 2021. Ashok is a robotics engineer with broad experience in computer vision and perception through planning and control.
He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication (2005-2009) from the College of Engineering Guindy in Chennai. Later, he moved to the US to pursue a Master of Science in Robotic Systems Development at Carnegie Mellon University (2012-2013). Before joining Tesla, he worked as a research intern at Volkswagen Electronic Research Lab.
Before this, he worked as a Software Engineer at WABCO Vehicle Control Systems for over two years. He lives in San Francisco, US. On Sunday, Elon Musk, whose net worth is USD 209.9 billion, credited Ashok for Tesla's success in AI and autopilot software.
"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 tweeted. Musk’s tweet was a response to Elluswamy’s note on X, wherein the latter reflected on Musk's bold vision.
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Ashok is quite active on X (formerly Twitter) and shares updates on Tesla and other things. He has 68.9K followers on the social media platform. 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.
