Tesla’s head of Autopilot and AI, Ashok Elluswamy, has backed a bold view about the impact of the company’s driving software. He agreed with a user who said Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) has overtaken the iPhone as the most transformative technology of this century.
X user Clay, shared a short update about his experience with a self-driving Tesla. He wrote that a self-driving Tesla has replaced the iPhone for his as the most transformative technology of the 21st century. He added that the iPhone has had a bigger impact overall so far, yet he still felt that a car driving itself changed his daily life more directly.
Elluswamy’s reply
Ashok Elluswamy, who heads the AI program at Tesla, did not ignore the comment. He replied from his official account and wrote: “It really is! And the upcoming tech will make it even more so.”
His answer did two things at once. It confirmed that someone at the very top of Tesla’s AI program agrees that FSD belongs in the same conversation as the iPhone. At the same time, it hinted that what users see today is only the start. His use of “upcoming tech” pointed to new features or platforms that have not yet been released.
For longtime Tesla watchers, that kind of language stood out. Many analysts read it as a signal that major updates or new AI-driven products may be closer than most people think.
What the “upcoming tech” might be
Elluswamy did not spell out details. Still, recent public information about Tesla’s software points to a few likely areas.
FSD v14 has been rolling out, and the neural networks behind it are far larger than earlier versions. That increase in model size, according to engineers who follow Tesla, can help the system handle complex tasks such as dense urban turns, construction zones, and unpredictable traffic behavior with fewer interventions.
In addition, the company has shared that total miles driven with FSD have climbed into the billions. Musk has previously talked about the idea that reaching around 10 billion cumulative miles would be a key milestone for confidence in unsupervised driving at scale. This data volume may support more advanced behavior and could be linked to the “upcoming tech” Elluswamy mentioned.
FSD’s recent performance
The timing of Elluswamy’s post comes as FSD (Supervised) gains fresh recognition from the automotive press. In early 2026, MotorTrend named FSD (Supervised) its 2026 Best Tech winner, calling v14 “vastly improved” over previous versions and stating that “no system is more advanced than Tesla’s FSD at assisting drivers”.
Some early adopters say the software now manages almost all of a typical commute, though they still keep their attention on the road and hands close to the wheel, as required.
Elluswamy and other members of Tesla’s AI team have spoken before about adding reasoning abilities to the system. They say FSD is learning higher-level decisions, such as picking better routes through construction, choosing parking spots, and interpreting unusual situations on the road.
For Tesla’s AI leadership, FSD is one part of a broader plan. Elluswamy has discussed how the same core AI methods used for self-driving can carry over to other products. One of those is Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, which uses vision-based models related to those in the company’s vehicles.
Company statements point to a future in which the car software and robot software share key building blocks. Musk has gone even further in his comments, saying he believes Tesla could be among the first firms to reach artificial general intelligence in a practical form, built into humanoid robots and advanced vehicles.
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