Who is Vaibhav Taneja, the new Indian-born CFO at Elon Musk's Tesla?

In a strategic move, Tesla on Monday announced that its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Zachary Kirkhorn has been replaced by Indian-origin accounting head Vaibhav Taneja who is known for his acumen with numbers.

The 45-year-old takes on the role, or the so-called “Master of Coin” position, in addition to his job as chief accounting officer (CAO), the automaker said, reported Reuters.

Here’s all you need to know about the new Tesla CFO.

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Who is Vaibhav Taneja?

Vaibhav Taneja, with a degree in commerce from Delhi University, first created a name for himself at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which he joined in 1996. He moved from the India office to the United States, where he eventually spent a whopping 17 years until March 2016, according to MoneyControl.

A series of positions with increasing levels of responsibility have characterised Taneja’s career at electric car giant Tesla. He started off in the position of Corporate Controller in May 2018, and due to his dedication and skill, he was promoted to CAO in March 2019. In January 2021, he was chosen to serve as a director for Tesla’s Indian Motors and Energy Private Limited.

Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja becomes new Tesla Chief Financial Officer

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His relationship with Tesla goes back much deeper, as he provided his financial know-how to the company’s 2016 acquisition of subsidiary SolarCity, a solar energy firm. He had a variety of finance and accounting roles while working for SolarCity, demonstrating his adaptability and aptitude in a fast-paced business environment, reported Economic Times.

Taneja has more than 20 years of accounting expertise and has held positions with international corporations in the telecommunications, finance, technology, and retail sectors.

He has closely worked with previously serving CFOs Zachary Kirkhorn and Deepak Ahuja on controllership in the US and abroad as well as quarterly profits for Tesla.

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Why did Zachary Kirkhorn leave Tesla?

Tesla did not give any specific reason behind Kirkhorn’s departure.

Soft-spoken Kirkhorn was seen as an effective balance to the more volatile Musk and was one of the most visible executives who often spoke on calls with analysts and made presentations on strategy and products.

“He was able to be an effective liaison communicator between Elon and other executives …that would be a skill set that is hard to come by and very valuable but hard to quantify,” said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments, a Tesla investor.

According to Reuters, during Kirkhorn’s tenure, Tesla posted its first quarterly profit after it launched the mass-market Model 3 compact sedan and hit a market valuation of more than $1 trillion.

“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,” Kirkhorn said in a LinkedIn post.

“That he’s going to be around until the end of the year is evidence that this is just for personal reasons and the personal reason is likely that working with Elon Musk is really hard and he’s done it for 13 years,” said Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management.

Kirkhorn’s departure marks the biggest shake-up at the company since long-time executive Jerome Guillen, who oversaw its semi-electric trucks, left in 2021.

“I would like to thank Zach Kirkhorn for his many contributions to Tesla over the course of 13 often difficult years. Much appreciated and best wishes for the next stage of his career,” Musk said in a post on X.

But, in accordance with a document made in connection with the matter with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Kirkhorn will continue to work for Tesla through the end of this year to support the transition.

Moreover, Tesla’s recently released quarterly earnings demonstrated a 20 per cent gain in its share value from the same period last year.

The profit margins for Tesla exceeded expectations as well. Due to the falling prices of its automobiles, they were, however, nonetheless smaller than the previous year.

With inputs from agencies