Indian-Origin Vaibhav Taneja Appointed Tesla CFO

Tesla

Automotive Company

Founders: Elon Musk, Martin Eberhard, JB Straubel, Marc Tarpenning, Ian Wright
Founded: 1 July 2003, San Carlos, California, United States
CEO: Elon Musk (Oct 2008)
Revenue: 8,146.2 crores USD (2022)
Headquarters: Austin, Texas, United States

According to a company filing on Monday, August 7th, Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer of Tesla, following the resignation of the former CFO, Zachary Kirkhorn.

Vaibhav Taneja, aged 45, assumes the role of Tesla CFO in addition to his existing position as Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) at the company. The transition occurred after Kirhorn, who had held the position of Tesla’s Master of Coin and finance chief for the past four years, resigned from his post.

Tesla acknowledged Zachary Kirkhorn’s substantial contributions during his 13-year tenure with the company, which witnessed significant expansion and growth. According to the company filing, Kirkhorn will remain in service until the end of the year, facilitating a seamless transition.

In a LinkedIn post, Kirkhorn expressed, “This morning Tesla announced that I’ve stepped down from my role as Chief Financial Officer, succeeded by our Chief Accounting Officer, Vaibhav Taneja. Being a part of this company is a special experience, and I’m extremely proud of the work we’ve done together since I joined over 13 years ago.”

“Being a part of this company is a special experience, and I’m extremely proud of the work we’ve done together since I joined over 13 years ago. As I shift my responsibilities to support this transition, I want to thank the talented, passionate, and hard-working employees at Tesla, who have accomplished things many thought (were) not possible. I also want to thank Elon for his leadership and optimism, which has inspired so many people,” he said.

Vaibhav Taneja’s association with Tesla has included roles such as Chief Accounting Officer since March 2019 and Corporate Controller since May 2018. His journey also encompasses the position of Assistant Corporate Controller from February 2017 to May 2018, along with various finance and accounting responsibilities at SolarCity Corporation, a solar panel developer acquired by Tesla in 2016.

Prior to his involvement with Tesla, Taneja was part of PricewaterhouseCoopers between July 1999 and March 2016, with engagements in both India and the United States, as mentioned in the company filing.

In a related context, recent reports indicate that Piyush Goyal, Union Commerce Minister, engaged in a closed-door meeting with senior Tesla executives based in the United States. The discussions centered around Tesla’s intentions to establish a manufacturing plant within India. According to sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Tesla is considering producing a low-cost electric vehicle (EV) priced at $24,000 for the Indian market and for export, which would be approximately 25% cheaper than their current entry model.

Mail us : [email protected]

Indian-Origin Vaibhav Taneja Appointed Tesla CFO