Tesla names Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja new CFO as Zachary Kirkhorn steps down

Tesla has announced on Monday that its finance chief Zachary Kirkhorn has stepped down and accounting head Vaibhav Taneja would take his place. The outgoing finance chief had been in the role for four years, and worked at the world’s most valuable automaker for 13 years. The Elon Musk-led firm did not provide any reason for his departure. However, Tesla said that Kirkhorn will stay with the company till the end of 2023 in order to aid a smooth transition.

In a LinkedIn post, Kirkhorn said, "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."

"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 not possible. I also want to thank Elon for his leadership and optimism, which has inspired so many people," he added.

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. He had been named CFO after Deepak Ahuja in 2019.

Who is Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla's new CFO?

Vaibhav Taneja, 45, had joined Tesla in 2016 after the automaker acquired SolarCity. As per Tesla, he will be taking up the of CFO, or the so-called "Master of Coin" position, in addition to his position as chief accounting officer.

A University of Delhi alumnus, he pursued B.Com. from the institution between 1996 and 1999, followed by Chartered Accountacy from ICAI between 1997 and 2000.

He began his career from consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers, followed by Solar City, before it was acquired by Tesla in 2016 and he joined the electric vehiclemaker as Assistant Corporate Controller.

His appointment comes at a time when Tesla is looking to foray into the Indian market and it recently leased its first office space in the country in Pune. 

Also read - Tesla leases its first office in India in Pune's Viman Nagar: Here's how much rent the EV maker will be paying

(With Agency Inputs)