Andrej Karpathy left his integral role as an AI director for Tesla’s autonomous vehicles. (Source: Tesla YouTube video)

From Meta to Tesla, Openings Proliferate at the Top of the Executive Ladder of Tech Companies

It seems a good time for executives to walk away from some of the highest-paid and most powerful positions in the high-tech universe. Recently Mark Zuckerberg CEO of Meta dealt with the departure of Sheryl Sandberg, who announced her resignation from Meta Platforms after 14 years as a chief operating officer.

Next up is Tesla AI and Autopilot leader Andrej Karpathy, who announced Wednesday that he’s no longer working for the electric vehicle maker. In an article from cnbc.com, Karpathy said:

“It’s been a great pleasure to help Tesla towards its goals over the last 5 years and a difficult decision to part ways,” Karpathy wrote on Twitter. “In that time, Autopilot graduated from lane keeping to city streets and I look forward to seeing the exceptionally strong Autopilot team continue that momentum.”

“I have no concrete plans for what’s next but look to spend more time revisiting my long-term passions around technical work in AI, open source, and education,” Karpathy wrote.

It was an amicable separation according to sources. In response, CEO Elon Musk thanked Karpathy for his work.

He has been the guy running the Autopilot Team of Tesla. Karpathy, whose title was senior director of AI, worked out of Tesla’s former headquarters in Palo Alto, California, and reported directly to Elon Musk.

Reports say the long-promised but still distant safe autonomous vehicle has worn some employees out. Karpathy may be one of them.

Promises, Promises

In late 2016, Musk promised Tesla fans a self-driving car that’s capable of driving from Los Angeles to New York without “the need for a single touch” by the end of 2017.

In 2019, Musk raised billions of dollars for Tesla by promising investors the company would have 1 million “robotaxi ready” cars on the road by the end of 2020. He also warned investors in 2019, “Sometimes I am not on time, but I get it done.”
Karpathy’s departure follows the closure of a Tesla office in San Mateo, California, where data annotation teams were helping to improve the company’s driver assistance technology.

His departure follows layoffs of nearly 200 Tesla employees focused on Autopilot.

To date, the company has not managed to deliver a coast-to-coast autonomous vehicle demonstration. And while Tesla stock has dropped some in the past quarter, it is still considered a safe bet to continue leading the AV market worldwide.

read more at cnbc.com