Tesla's head of Optimus humanoid robot program to leave firm

(Reuters) -Milan Kovac, the head of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot program, announced his plans to step down in a post on X on Friday.

Kovac became the lead of the program in 2022 when he was appointed director of Optimus and Autopilot Engineering, and he took on the role of vice president in September last year.

"I've been far away from home for too long, and will need to spend more time with family abroad. I want to make it clear that this is the only reason," Kovac said in his social media post.

Bloomberg News, which initially reported the development, said in its report that Kovac would leave his position immediately, and Ashok Elluswamy, who currently leads Tesla's autopilot teams, will take on his role.

Tesla and Elluswamy did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Musk has earlier said he expected Tesla to make thousands of Optimus robots this year. He said in April that China's export restrictions on rare-earth magnets had affected production of the humanoid robots.

Tesla has shifted focus to launching the robots and its robotaxi service, with much of the company's valuation hanging on that bet.

"The only things that matter in the long term are autonomy and Optimus," Musk told CNBC in May.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Pooja Desai and Shounak Dasgupta)