Tesla’s vice president of AI software, Ashok Elluswamy, delivered a stark warning to employees during an all-hands meeting last month: 2026 will be the “hardest year” of their lives. According to Business Insider, Elluswamy told staff across the Autopilot and Optimus robot teams they should expect to work more intensely than ever to meet the company’s ambitious goals.
Aggressive targets for Robotaxi and Optimus production
The nearly two-hour meeting, described by one attendee as a “rallying cry,” outlined aggressive timelines for both Optimus humanoid robot production and Tesla’s Robotaxi service expansion. Leaders from across the AI division addressed workers about the challenging targets ahead as the company races to launch Robotaxis across multiple metropolitan areas and ramp up production of its humanoid robots.CEO Elon Musk announced in October that Tesla plans to operate its Robotaxi service in eight to ten metropolitan areas by the end of 2025, with over 1,000 ride-hailing vehicles on the road. The company also aims to begin Optimus bot production toward the end of 2026, though Musk acknowledged the production ramp would take time to reach an annualized rate of one million units.
Elon Musk’s trillion-dollar pay package hinges on success
The pressure on Tesla’s AI teams is directly tied to Musk’s recently approved pay package, which could make him the world’s first trillionaire. Shareholders approved the unprecedented deal earlier this month, with the package including several ambitious milestones: deploying one million Robotaxis on public roads and producing one million humanoid robots.Elluswamy assumed leadership of the Optimus team earlier this year following the departure of vice president Milan Kovac. Since then, the team has shifted toward a more camera-focused approach, similar to how Tesla trains its Full Self-Driving software. Both the Autopilot and Optimus teams meet weekly with Musk, with Friday sessions sometimes extending until midnight.
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