Tesla Appoints India-Origin Vaibhav Taneja As CFO

Tesla Inc. has appointed India-origin Vaibhav Taneja as its new chief financial officer with immediate effect.

Taneja, who is currently the electric carmaker’s chief accounts officer, will take on the additional responsibility of chief financial officer from Zachary Kirkhorn, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued on Monday.

Kirkhorn stepped down on Aug. 4, after a 13-year tenure at the world’s most valued carmaker. He will continue to serve Tesla till the end of the year to support a seamless transition.

“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,” Kirkhorn said, in a LinkedIn post announcing his departure.

“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 (Musk) for his leadership and optimism, which has inspired so many people.”

Taneja, who has been with Tesla for nearly seven years now, has been the company’s chief accounting officer since March 2019. Previously, he worked at SolarCity Corp. in various finance and accounting roles.

A graduate of Delhi University and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, his first job was with PwC where he spent a total of 16 years across postings in the U.S. and India.