Tesla AI executive says: 2026 will be the toughest year for employees.

Tesla Vice President of AI Software Ashok Elluswamy issued a warning to employees at an all-hands meeting, stating that 2026 will be the "toughest year" of their careers.

On November 13, media reports said that Elluswamy made the remarks last month during an all-hands meeting with the Autopilot (Automated Driving) and Optimus (Humanoid Robot) teams:

If you work on Tesla’s AI team, next year will be the toughest year of your life.

Elluswamy called on employees to be prepared to work with unprecedented intensity in order to achieve company goals.

Reports cited insiders saying last month's all-hands meeting was a "mobilization order." During the nearly two-hour meeting, leaders at all levels of the AI department communicated specific goals to their teams.

Tesla has set aggressive timelines for the production of Optimus robots and expansion of Robotaxi services. Achievement of these goals is directly linked to the compensation package for CEO Musk, which was just approved by shareholders this month.

The package contains multiple ambitious milestones that could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire—but only if Tesla achieves breakthroughs in the Robotaxi and Optimus projects.

Aggressive Expansion Timeline

In Tesla’s October earnings call, Musk stated the company plans to operate Robotaxi services in 8–10 major metropolitan areas by the end of 2025, and deploy more than 1,000 self-driving taxis by year-end.

Regarding Optimus robots, Musk said Tesla aims to begin production by the end of 2026. He admitted that ramping up to one million units per year "will take time, because progress will be constrained by whichever one of the 10,000 unique components is the slowest, clumsiest or least smooth."

The Tesla shareholder-approved compensation plan for Musk sets several key targets, including deploying one million Robotaxis on public roads and producing one million humanoid robots.

Several compensation consultants previously told media that this plan is very rare in the industry but may be key to keeping the billionaire focused on Tesla.

High-Pressure Work Culture

Tesla’s Autopilot team has long been one of the company’s highest-priority projects, known for its long working hours.

Reportedly, this team works in the same office space as the Optimus team but is largely isolated from other engineers, and its organizational structure is kept confidential externally. Since its founding, the team has traditionally met with Musk every week.

Earlier this year, after Optimus Vice President Milan Kovac left, Elluswamy took over leadership responsibilities for the team. Since then, the company has shifted the team’s focus to a camera-centric technological path, similar to the approach used to train fully autonomous driving software.

The Optimus team also continues weekly meetings with Musk. In October, Musk said he regularly meets with the team every Friday, "sometimes lasting until midnight."

Musk once joked that he needs more Tesla shares, because if he can't maintain "strong influence" over the company, he’s not comfortable building a "robot army."

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