--- title: "Tesla’s AI Boss Issues Grim Warning to Workers" description: "Tesla's AI chief Ashok Elluswamy beat the war drum, warning the company's AI teams that 2026 will be the \"hardest year\" of their lives." date: "2025-11-14" modified: "2025-11-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/tesla-ai-boss-grim-warning-workers" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Electric Vehicles" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" --- # Tesla’s AI Boss Issues Grim Warning to Workers ![Tesla's AI chief Ashok Elluswamy beat the war drum, warning the company's AI teams that 2026 will be the "hardest year" of their lives.]() *Getty / Futurism* Last week, Tesla shareholders [approved an enormous $1 trillion pay package]() for its controversial CEO Elon Musk. While that may sound like an Earth-shattering amount of cash, the compensation plan will only be paid out if the EV maker achieves some extremely ambitious company goals — like delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles and one million robots over the next ten years. That's not to mention boosting the company's $1.4 trillion market value to an astronomical $8.5 trillion. And given the firm's current state, with [sales continuing to plummet]() and Tesla posting its [fourth consecutive quarterly decline]() last month, that's going to be an even steeper uphill battle than at face value. It sounds like nerves inside the company are shaky as well. As [*Business Insider* reports](), Tesla's AI chief Ashok Elluswamy beat the war drum during an all-hands meeting last month, warning the company's AI teams that 2026 will be the "hardest year" of their lives, a dressing down that was reportedly meant to be a "rallying cry." AI division leaders set extremely aggressive timelines for the company's humanoid robot, Optimus, which is reportedly already [lagging far behind Musk's lofty production goals]() this year. The company's former Optimus lead, Milan Kovac, [left the company in June](). Elluswamy assumed a leadership role on the project earlier this year, per *BI*. The other half of Musk's reimagined vision for Tesla is the firm's robotaxi, whose rollout has also been [mired in chaos](). Glaring issues plaguing the autonomous driving software have resulted in [several accidents]() already. A truly self-driving car that requires no intervention from the driver still appears to be years away, despite Musk's [frequent promises](). Put simply, it's no surprise that Elluswamy is warning of tough times ahead, with workers expected to deliver on some enormously ambitious goals, once again highlighting the company's [already brutal working conditions]() and Musk's [infamously extreme]() and [often cruel work ethic](). As critics accuse [Tesla of abandoning private car sales]() — its bread and butter since its inception — Musk is doubling down on robots and AI instead. During last month's earnings call, [Musk admitted]() that getting to an "annualized rate of one million" Optimus robots may "take a while" since production will "move as fast as the slowest, dumbest, least lucky thing out of 10,000 unique items." Nonetheless, Musk has claimed that Optimus "could become the largest product in history." Per the mercurial entrepreneur, [about 80 percent]() of the automaker's value will come from the robot. Musk also predicted that Tesla is planning to roll out robotaxis in "approximately eight to ten major metropolitan areas" by the end of this year, a [moonshot, according to skeptics](). In short, it's no wonder Tesla executives are warning that 2026 may prove incredibly challenging as the pressure now falls on those responsible for actually delivering on all these extremely ambitious timelines. Whether Tesla will succeed remains to be seen. For now, investors are seemingly convinced of Musk's reimagining of the carmaker, [propping up a "sky-high" valuation]() despite plunging revenues. **More on Tesla:** [*Tesla’s Market Share Has Fallen So Badly That It’s Back to 2017 Levels*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()