In 2023, Tesla, whose stock price increased by more than double, came into the spotlight with changes in its board of directors. Tesla announced that its Chief Accounting Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, will also take on the role of CFO.
Tesla deemed Vaibhav Taneja suitable for the CFO position
Kirkhorn, who joined Tesla in 2010 as a senior financial analyst, managed to be promoted five times. Taking on the role of CFO at the age of 34, Kirkhorn managed to repay nearly $10 billion of debt in three years, securing investment-grade ratings.
According to the announcement made by the company yesterday, Kirkhorn, who was one of the four executives and a prominent figure among the company’s shareholders, resigned from his CFO position. The company stated that Kirkhorn will continue in his role until the end of the year for a smooth transition.
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Kirkhorn will hand over his role to Taneja, who is 45 years old. Taneja, currently the Chief Accounting Officer, held various positions at the EV manufacturer before becoming the Chief Accountant in 2019. It is worth noting that he previously worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in India and the United States.
Gene Munster, Managing Partner of Deepwater Asset Management, commented on the matter, stating, “Spending 13 years at Tesla is equivalent to working 50 years at any other company. Kirkhorn’s continuation in his role until the end of the year is a very good move for the transition.”
Kirkhorn’s departure, considered one of the key candidates to replace Musk as CEO, brought attention to the uncertainty in leadership at Tesla. Taneja, who was not among the 16 executives invited on stage with Musk at the investor meeting in March, was added to the list of CEO candidates.
