Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja becomes Tesla’s new CFO: Zachary Kirkhorn replaced, Vaibhav has been working in Musk’s company for 7 years.
Elon Musk’s company Tesla has appointed Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Vaibhav Taneja has been replaced by Zachary Kirkhorn. The company has given this information in a regulatory filing on Monday (August 7).
Kirkhorn resigns after working at Tesla for 13 years
Zachary Kirkhorn resigned as CFO on Friday (August 4) after working with Tesla for 13 years. He was working on the post of CFO for the last four years. Kirkhorn will remain with the company until the end of this year. However, the electric vehicle and solar panel maker company has not yet given the reason for this change.
“Being a part of this company has been a special experience and I am extremely proud of the work we’ve done together since joining Tesla 13 years ago,” Kirkhorn said in a LinkedIn post.
Vaibhav Taneja is on the post of CAO in Tesla since 2019
Vaibhav Taneja, 45, is currently working as the Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) in the American automobile giant Tesla since March 2019. Now he will also hold the additional responsibility of the post of CFO. Prior to his appointment as CFO, he held the position of Corporate Controller in the company since May 2018. Prior to this, Taneja was the Assistant Corporate Controller in the company from February 2017 to May 2018.
Vaibhav Taneja’s entry into Tesla was in 2017
Vaibhav Taneja has graduated in commerce from Delhi University. He worked with Price Waterhouse Coopers Company in India and the US from July 1999 to March 2016. He started his career from this company only. In 2016, he moved to Solar City, a solar energy company. Solar City was bought by Tesla in 2017. Then this year Vaibhav Taneja’s entry took place in Tesla.
Vaibhav is also the director of Tesla’s Indian branch
In January 2021, Vaibhav Taneja was also appointed as the director of Tesla’s Indian arm – Tesla India Motors & Energy Private Limited. Vaibhav has over 20 years of experience in accounting. He has worked with several multinational companies in technology, finance, retail and telecommunication.
This appointment of Vaibhav Taneja comes at a time when Tesla is aiming to increase its sales and gain more market share. According to a Reuters report, Tesla has also reduced the prices of its cars in pursuit of this objective, which has eroded its industry-leading margins.
Kirkhorn was once considered Musk’s successor
Zachary Kirkhorn was once considered the successor to Elon Musk. Then investors had also expressed concern over the succession plan in Tesla. Elon Musk is currently the head of SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company along with Tesla. He also serves as the Chief Technology Officer of X (formerly known as Twitter).
