Hyundai Motor Group plans to appoint former head of Tesla's humanoid robot program as adviser

Hyundai Motor Group said it plans to appoint Milan Kovac, former lead of Tesla's Optimus humanoid program, as an adviser and to nominate him as an outside director of its U.S. subsidiary Boston Dynamics. The company recently unveiled the production Atlas humanoid at CES and said it aims to build a factory to make 30,000 robot units annually by 2028.

Hyundai Motor Group said it plans to appoint Milan Kovac as an adviser as it seeks to strengthen its robotics and artificial intelligence capabilities. The company also plans to nominate Kovac as an outside director of its U.S. subsidiary Boston Dynamics. Kovac led Tesla's Optimus humanoid program and announced plans to leave Tesla last June. Hyundai recently showed the production version of its Atlas humanoid at CES and set a production target for the coming years. Key details: - Hyundai plans to appoint Milan Kovac as an adviser and to nominate him as an outside director of Boston Dynamics' U.S. subsidiary. - Kovac became lead of Tesla's Optimus humanoid program in 2022 and announced his departure from Tesla last June. - Hyundai said Kovac will contribute to mid- to long-term strategy and commercialization across its robotics platforms, including Spot, Stretch, Orbit and Atlas. - Hyundai unveiled the production Atlas humanoid at the Consumer Electronics Show and said it aims to build a factory capable of manufacturing 30,000 robot units annually by 2028. - The company also named Park Min-woo, a former Tesla and Nvidia engineer, to lead its advanced vehicle platform division and 42dot; Hyundai's shares rose more than 34% since the Atlas unveiling, compared with a 7% rise in the KOSPI. Summary: Hyundai is adding a senior robotics figure as part of a broader push into humanoid robots and physical AI, following its Atlas unveiling and stated production plans. Undetermined at this time.