--- title: "Elon Musk Pulling Engineers From Tesla Autopilot to Work on Twitter" description: "Tesla CEO Elon Musk is desperately trying to turn his $44 billion investment into successful business venture by leveraging Tesla employees." date: "2022-11-01" modified: "2022-11-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-engineers-tesla-autopilot-twitter" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "twitter" --- # Elon Musk Pulling Engineers From Tesla Autopilot to Work on Twitter ![Tesla CEO Elon Musk is desperately trying to turn his $44 billion investment into successful business venture by leveraging Tesla employees.]() *\Image: Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images\* Now that he has installed himself as "Chief Twit" running Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is desperately trying to turn his $44 billion investment into successful business venture — a Sisyphean task that'll be anything but easy. Now, to realize his new and [arguably poorly thought-out]() ideas for making Twitter money, Musk is leveraging some existing personpower from his other ventures, including Tesla, The Boring Company, and Neuralink, [*CNBC* reports](). According to documents viewed by the broadcaster, more than 50 employees from Tesla alone are now authorized to work for Twitter. Among them are Autopilot and TeslaBot director of engineering Milan Kovac and senior director of software engineering Maha Virduhagiri. Pulling resources from Tesla's assisted driving program feels symbolically fraught, especially as the tech faces [serious regulatory scrutiny]() at the same time that it's been [pulled into a manslaughter case](). The takeaway? Basically, Musk seems completely freaked about the Twitter deal, which he [fought tooth and nail]() before finally admitting defeat and going through with the acquisition. The move to install a number of his closest allies at Twitter is perhaps also symptomatic of the billionaire's distrust of Twitter's current workforce. He's already [slashed Twitter's leadership]() and [dissolved its board of directors](). According to [*The Washington Post*](), Musk is also planning to fire a quarter of the company's workforce. The cuts likely represent an effort to keep costs to an absolute minimum. Musk took on billions of dollars in debt to purchase a company that has [only occasionally]() made a profit. But pulling team members away from Tesla could also represent yet another setback for the company's efforts to build out its self-driving software. In June, Tesla [laid off 200 employees]() involved in the company's efforts to develop its driver-assistance system. It's unclear how much of their time these dozens of Tesla employees will have to commit to Musk's newest venture. But it's inconceivable that it won't slow Tesla's progress. Whether these employees will end up proving helpful in Musk's quest to turn Twitter into an "[inclusive arena for free speech]()" is an entirely different question. After all, running an electric car company and designing self-driving car software has very little to do with the issues that have been plaguing Twitter long before Musk took over, including moderating hate speech and limiting the number of bots and scammers on the platform. The two companies don't even make use of the same coding language, as *CNBC* points out. Meanwhile, Musk has cracked the whip on Twitter's existing employees, reportedly forcing them to work 12-hour days to build him a verification system — or risk being fired. As expected, Musk's first days at the helm of Twitter have already proven to be extraordinarily tumultuous. Right now, it feels like anything could change at the drop of a hat — which is exactly the kind of leadership style we've come to expect from the mercurial Musk. **READ MORE:** [Elon Musk has pulled more than 50 Tesla employees into his Twitter takeover]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on the situation:** *[Elon Musk Pleads With Stephen King to Pay for Blue Checkmark]()* ## 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]()