Andrej Karpathy, Tesla's AI director announces his departure

July 14, 2022

By Kevin Armstrong

Andrej Karpathy was Tesla's Director of AI

Tesla/YouTube

Andrej Karpathy took to Twitter to announce he's leaving Tesla. The 35-year-old was the senior director of artificial intelligence and was a key part of the Autopilot team.

He did not explain why he was going; instead, he praised his team's work on Autopilot's development.

The tweet reads: It's been a great pleasure to help Tesla towards its goals over the last 5 years and a difficult decision to part ways. 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.

Elon Musk responded to his tweet: Thanks for everything you have done for Tesla! It has been an honor working with you.

Within minutes of these tweets, media outlets and industry observers started to speculate about the future of Tesla's FSD. Karpathy was a significant part of the team tasked with improving FSD and making it available to every Tesla owner in North America by the end of 2022.

Just 35 minutes after he tweeted he was leaving, he addressed the gossip with another tweet. It reads: Important to keep in mind that the Autopilot team is hundreds of strong engineers who very much know what they're doing, just don't have my public visibility. I was only one part of that effort, and I think get an outsized spotlight cast on me because I do.

Karpathy, a Ph.D. from Stanford University, was on a four-month sabbatical. His departure comes just days after Tesla closed its San Mateo, California office laying off 229 data annotation employees who were part of the Autopilot team. The layoffs were expected after Musk announced a hiring freeze and a 10 percent workforce cut in June.

Andrej says he doesn't have any plans for what he'll do next, but that he plans to spend additional time with his passions of AI, open source and education.

Whole Mars Catalog, among others, questioned how significant Karpathy's departure was to the company. "It's not bullish, but people are vastly overblowing it," tweeted Whole Mars Catalog. "Elon knew this would happen and that's why he started highlighting in early 2021 that Ashok (Elluswamy) was the lead on Autopilot software, not Andrej."

Nobody stays forever. Life goes on.

Elluswamy was hired as the team director of Autopilot in 2015. At the time of his hiring, Musk said he was the first person recruited for the Autopilot team.

Andrej during Tesla's AI Day

Tesla Issues Physical Recall for Some Model 3 & Model Y Vehicles Over Seat Fasteners

June 27, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has issued a new, voluntary safety recall for a small batch of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles due to an issue with improperly tightened fasteners in the first-row seats.

The recall impacts only about 48 vehicles and will require a Tesla service visit to resolve.

Improperly Tightened Fasteners

According to the recall notice, the issue stems from the first-row seating that may have been manufactured with improperly torqued fasteners that attach the seat back to the seat bottom. In some cases, the fasteners may be loose or missing, which could cause a rattle or the seat to detach.

This is a critical safety issue, as a seat back that is not properly anchored could detach, leaving the driver or passenger unsupported and increasing the risk of an accident.

According to Tesla’s investigation, this issue originated from a production change made for vehicles manufactured between April 3rd and May 7th of 2025. However, not all vehicles built within that date are impacted by the recall. The issue impacts 30 2026 Model Ys and 18 2025 Model 3s, across all variants, including RWD, AWD, and Performance (for the Model 3).

Thankfully, there have been no incidents related to this issue to date.

The Fix

Since this is a physical recall, Tesla will have to inspect impacted vehicles and replace and properly retorque the seat fasteners as needed, free of charge.

Owners of vehicles who have been impacted have already been contacted under the voluntary recall, and most vehicles should have been repaired by the time this notice is formally issued.

You can also check if your VIN is impacted by a recall using Tesla’s Recall Tool.

Tesla has noted the repair should take approximately one hour of work at a Service Center, and up to two hours if a Mobile Ranger addresses the recall.

Tesla Robotaxi Sends Out More Invites: Next Phases of Robotaxi

June 27, 2025

By Karan Singh

@TerrapinTerpene

Following the successful launch of Robotaxi on Sunday, June 22nd, Tesla has begun moving to the next phase of its Robotaxi rollout. They have finally begun sending out a second, larger wave of invites, expanding the early access program to more members of the Tesla community across the United States.

This has moved them past the initial 20 or so users that were offered access on Sunday. That also means Tesla is on the hunt for something crucial: more real-world data.

More Riders ASAP

The initial launch was a tightly controlled event, with access granted to a small and curated group of influencers. While this approach was ideal for generating initial buzz for the launch and collecting feedback from high-quality testers, it also presented logistical challenges.

With only a handful of authorized riders and vehicles, the demand for rides would inevitably dry up as influencers begin their journeys back home. Without a public release, that would leave Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet idle, unable to gather additional data.

To rapidly improve on Robotaxi’s FSD, Tesla needs its vehicles to be constantly navigating real-world scenarios, encountering edge cases, and logging miles. The second round of invites is needed to keep Robotaxis learning and on the road.

Austin Users Next?

This new wave of invites isn’t an open door for members of the public quite yet. By continuing to send invites to trusted community members, Tesla is executing a slow and deliberate rollout by inviting members who know and love Tesla. This allows them to scale the program gradually, increasing the number of users and the diversity of ride requests without overwhelming the relatively small initial fleet of about 10 cars.

Future phases will likely involve opening access to Tesla owners within Austin, which would open up a regular flow of rides. Once that’s done, Robotaxi will likely open up to the public.

Sign of Confidence

The expansion of the early access program is a sign that Tesla is happy and confident with the rollout so far. While Tesla can gather plenty of data around Austin from Tesla owners using FSD, they also need to continue testing features that are exclusive to the Robotaxi, such as the Robotaxi app, support, and remotely control the vehicles when needed.

We expect a full launch to potentially still be months out, but this methodical expansion will likely see more users gradually gain access to the Robotaxi network in the coming weeks.