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Pete Bannon, Tesla’s vice president of hardware design engineering, is leaving the company after joining from Apple in 2016. During his tenure, Bannon played a pivotal role in building Tesla’s custom AI chips and leading the development of the Dojo supercomputer, a high-performance system designed to train Tesla’s self-driving technology using massive amounts of real-world driving data. He reported directly to Elon Musk and was instrumental in pushing Tesla deeper into artificial intelligence hardware innovation.

His departure coincides with Musk’s decision to disband the Dojo engineering team entirely, reassigning its members to other initiatives within Tesla. The move marks a shift in how the company is approaching AI infrastructure, even as autonomous driving remains one of Musk’s most ambitious promises.

Dojo, along with Tesla’s Cortex computing cluster, was meant to dramatically improve the performance of the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and pave the way for a global network of fully autonomous robotaxis. On Tesla’s July earnings call, Musk revealed that the latest version of Dojo was expected to reach full operational scale in 2026, with performance equivalent to 100,000 Nvidia H-100 chips—a staggering amount of processing power aimed at real-time AI training.

Despite the shutdown of the Dojo team, Tesla is not slowing down on AI hardware. The company recently signed a $16.5 billion deal with Samsung to manufacture its new A16 chips domestically, reducing reliance on Nvidia and ensuring more control over production capacity. These chips will support Tesla’s AI computing needs for both vehicles and robotics.

Tesla’s autonomous vehicle efforts continue in real-world trials. In Austin, Texas, the company is running a robotaxi pilot with a human safety driver present, while in San Francisco, a human-operated ride service branded as “Tesla Robotaxi” is being tested through a dedicated app for invited users.

The leadership change also comes amid ongoing questions about Tesla’s relationship with Musk’s separate AI company, xAI. While xAI focuses on large-scale models for artificial general intelligence, Tesla is concentrating on smaller, highly optimized models for autonomous driving and robotics. Musk has acknowledged that some engineers prefer working on AGI, which is one reason he launched xAI in the first place.

Bannon’s departure is part of a broader trend of high-profile exits from Tesla this year. Other notable departures include Milan Kovac, head of Optimus robotics engineering; David Lau, vice president of software engineering; and Omead Afshar, Musk’s former chief of staff. The wave of talent turnover reflects both strategic changes and an intensely competitive market for AI and robotics experts.

While the Dojo vision in its original form may not move forward, Tesla’s long-term AI goals remain ambitious. With fresh chip manufacturing deals, ongoing robotaxi pilots, and a reallocation of engineering talent, the company is still betting heavily on a future where its cars and robots operate with advanced autonomous intelligence.

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