Tesla's AI and autopilot Andrej Karpathy has announced that he is leaving. This is a great loss for the world's leading electric car company during a volatile period.

Karpathy joined Tesla in 2017 as a computer vision and artificial intelligence specialist. Five years later, he rose up quickly and became an important part of Tesla's self-driving system (autopilot) project.

As the company expanded its research from self-driving systems to artificial intelligence, Karpathy was appointed senior director of AI.

The technology developed by Mr. Karpathy's team is named FSD (full-self driving). Unlike the standard autopilot (autopilot), the FSD full self-driving mode has more features and is safer.

FSD is installed in vehicles including the Model S and future models such as the Cybertruck. This technology is always mentioned with pride by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and is often used to promote new car lines.

Tesla will sell the FSD software package to users separately for a one-time fee of $12,000, with current models only fitted with standard autopilot.

Previously, Mr. Karpathy announced that he would go on leave in March and plan to return in July. However, observers said that Tesla executives often take sudden leave and do not return.

Writing on Twitter, Mr Karpathy said breaking up Tesla "was a difficult decision". He said there are no concrete plans for the future, but would like to "take some time to reflect on our longstanding passion for AI, open source and education".

In the latest move, Tesla CEO thanked Mr. Karpathy. "It's an honor to work with you," the billionaire wrote.

According to Bloomberg, Mr. Karpathy left after his office in San Mateo (California) was closed. This is the center for research and improvement of Tesla's autonomous driving technology.

According to records from the California Department of Employment Development, hundreds of people have lost their jobs since Tesla closed the headquarters. Observers say Karpathy's departure is a big blow to Tesla's autopilot development team and AI research efforts.

Last month, billionaire Elon Musk admitted that he was trying to prevent the electric car company from going bankrupt. "The last two years have been a nightmare because of supply chain disruptions. One thing after another happens," CNN quoted Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The American electric car company has lost billions of dollars because of new factories, supply chain disruptions and severe lockdowns in China due to the pandemic.