Elon Musk reveals how a single tweet led to Tesla AI hire Ashok Elluswamy

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has shared how one social media post played a pivotal role in hiring Ashok Elluswamy, now head of Tesla’s Autopilot and AI division, along with other key contributors to the company’s artificial intelligence efforts. The story traces back to a 2015 tweet in which Musk announced that Tesla was “ramping up the Autopilot software team” to pursue “generalized full autonomy” and included a direct call for applications via email.

The tweet resurfaced recently on X, with a user noting, “The tweet Ashok responded to that got him hired at Tesla.” Musk confirmed the story, explaining that the post was part of Tesla’s broader strategy to build its AI capabilities organically. He stated:

“A tweet/post is how I initiated the dozen or so startups that constitute Tesla. Tesla has made very few acquisitions. Our growth is ~90% organic. We didn’t ‘play to our core strengths’; we created core strengths from nothing.”

This example highlights Musk’s unconventional recruitment methods, leveraging social media to directly connect with top talent rather than relying on traditional hiring channels. The 2015 tweet served as the starting point for Tesla’s Autopilot AI team, which has since become a cornerstone of the company’s EV and autonomous driving ambitions.