Indian-origin Ashok Elluswamy, first person on Tesla Autopilot team, was hired by Elon Musk on Twitter
Elon Musk revealed some interesting details about his first employee for Tesla Autopilot team. He is Indian-origin Ashok Elluswamy. Here are 5 points about him.
I remember writing an essay in school on the topic: Social Media: A Boon or Bane. Now, as an adult, I see many examples which justify the essay. Recently, someone from India got a job at Tesla - hold my phone - via Twitter. No, I am not joking. Tesla boss Elon Musk himself tweeted about this unusual hiring.
Indian-origin techie Ashok Elluswamy is the first recruit for Tesla's Autopilot team, and he was hired on Twitter.
BUT FIRST, WHO IS ASHOK ELLUSWAMY?
1. FIRST EMPLOYEE FOR AUTOPILOT
Musk revealed that Ashok was the first employee to be hired for Tesla’s Autopilot team. Someone shared a clip from Musk's interview with Lex Fridman, an AI researcher on Twitter in which Musk said, “Ashok is the head of Autopilot engineering. The Tesla Autopilot AI team is extremely talented. Some of the smartest people in the world.”
Elon on Teslas Autopilot team: Ashok is actually the head of Autopilot engineering. Andrej is director of AI; People often give me too much credit & give Andrej too much credit. The Tesla Autopilot AI team is extremely talented. Some of the smartest people in the world. @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/a6vJ64aphG
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 29, 2021
2. ASHOK ELLUSWAMY WAS HIRED ON TWITTER
In one of the comments on the video, Musk revealed, “Ashok was the first person recruited from my tweet saying that Tesla is starting an Autopilot team!”
Ashok was the first person recruited from my tweet saying that Tesla is starting an Autopilot team!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 29, 2021
Earlier in 2015, Elon Musk announced the launch of the Autopilot team at Tesla and asked for applications.
Ramping up the Autopilot software team at Tesla to achieve generalized full autonomy. If interested, contact autopilot@teslamotors.com.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2015
3. HAS BEEN WORKING WITH TESLA FOR QUITE SOME TIME
Ashok has been working with Tesla for the past 8 years. He started his journey there as a software engineer and is now the director of Autopilot software.
Before Tesla, he was associated with Volkswagen and WABCO Vehicle Control Systems.
4. EDUCATION
Ashok completed his graduation in Engineering of Electronics and Communications. Later he studied MSc with a specialisation in Robotic Systems Development.
5. SOCIAL MEDIA A BOON FOR ASHOK
For Ashok, Twitter became a professional platform like Linkedin which helped him apply at Tesla and later he got selected.
So, we believe staying alert and following the (right) people might help you too in future. Social Media is not always a bane, after all.