NRI Vaibhav Taneja Named New Tesla CFO
As Zachary Kirkhorn Steps Down

Los Angeles, August 07, 2023
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh

Tesla finance chief Zachary Kirkhorn has stepped down, surprising analysts who considered the 13-year veteran as a possible successor to CEO Elon Musk and sending the shares of the electric automaker down 3.5% on Monday.The company did not give a reason for his exit.

Accounting head Vaibhav Taneja, who joined Tesla through the $2.6 billion deal for Solarcity in 2016, will replace Kirkhorn. 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.

NRI Vaibhav Taneja, 45, takes on the role, or the so-called "Master of Coin" position, in addition to his job as chief accounting officer.

The Austin, Texas-based automaker this year cut prices of its cars in a move that prioritized sales growth and market share and squeezed its industry-leading margins.

Tesla has also hinted at more price cuts in what Musk called "turbulent times" as rising borrowing costs take a toll on the sales of electric-vehicle makers.

About Vaibhav Taneja

• Taneja has served as Tesla's CAO since March 2019 and as the Corporate Controller since May 2018.
• He served as the Assistant Corporate Controller between February 2017 and May 2018,
• Taneja joined Tesla in 2017 from SolarCity, a solar energy company that Tesla acquired in 2016, where he originally served as vice president and later corporate controller and led the successful integration of both companies’ accounting teams. 
• Before that, Taneja was employed at PricewaterhouseCoopers in both India and the US between July 1999 and March 2016, the company filing said.  
• The estimated Net Worth of Vaibhav Taneja is at least  $43.2 Million dollars as of 7 July 2023.
• Mr Taneja owns over 4,000 units of Tesla Inc stock worth over $27,544,825 and over the last 4 years he sold TSLA stock worth over $15,632,159.
• Before that, the 45-year-old was employed at PricewaterhouseCoopers in both India and the US between July 1999 and March 2016, as per his LinkedIn profile. 
• Commerce graduate from Delhi University
• He has more than 17 years of experience working with multinational companies in technology, retail & telecommunication.