Tesla appoints India-origin Vaibhav Taneja as its CFO

Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja has been named Tesla’s new Chief Financial Officer as the previous finance chief Zachary Kirkhorn announced his decision to step down. He was appointed Tesla CFO in addition to his current role as Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) of the US-based electric car major after Kirhorn, Tesla’s Master of Coin and finance chief for the last four years, stepped down from the post.

Mr Kirkhorn’s 13-year tenure with the Elon Musk-led American EV giant was described as one of “tremendous expansion and growth” in the company filing.

Career and experience of Vaibhav Taneja

Mr 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, and from March 2016, served in various finance and accounting roles at SolarCity Corporation, a US-based solar panel developer acquired by Tesla in 2016. Before that, Mr Taneja was employed at PricewaterhouseCoopers in both India and the US between July 1999 and March 2016.

Who Is Tesla’s New CFO Vaibhav Taneja? 

Taneja is a commerce graduate. He did his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Delhi University between 1996 and 1999. He also pursued his Chartered Accountancy from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, between 1997 and 2000.

Taneja’s Tesla journey began in 2017 as he switched from a dynamic solar energy firm, SolarCity, which had been acquired by Tesla. His journey began as the Vice President of SolarCity and eventually he went on to become the Corporate Controller.  Taneja was highly credited for the seamless integration of accounting teams from both firms.

Before joining Tesla, Taneja worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers for a good 17-years span before he moved on to SolarCity, ending his PwC journey in March 2016.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Tesla Founders: Elon Musk, Martin Eberhard, JB Straubel, Marc Tarpenning, Ian Wright;
• Tesla Founded: 1 July 2003, San Carlos, California, United States;
• Tesla CEO: Elon Musk (Oct 2008–);
• Tesla Headquarters: Austin, Texas, United States.

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