Tesla, a global automotive and clean energy firm, has appointed Vaibhav Taneja as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), as announced on August 7, 2023, in a report filed to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.  

The announcement comes after their current CFO Zachary Kirkhorn resigned on August 4, 2023. He served Tesla for over 13 years and was considered a potential successor to CEO Elon Musk, before his exit announcement. 

Vaibhav Taneja, who is currently serving as Chief Accounting Officer at Tesla, will be taking over from Zachary until the end of the year. He will support the organisation for a ‘seamless transition’. 

In his previous Vaibhav worked with Pricewaterhouse Coopers India and the US for over 16 years. He joined PWC in 1999 as Assistant Manager and was promoted to Senior Manager role in 2008. Thereafter, he joined SolarCity as Vice President of Accounting, and served the organisation for nearly one year, before moving on to Tesla as Assistant Corporate Controller in 2017. 

Zachary shared on LinkedIn, “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.”

On the academic front, Vaibhav completed BCom from the University of Delhi in India. Thereafter, he qualified for Chartered Accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). He is also a qualified Certified Public Accountant for the United States.