Tesla names Taneja as CFO after Kirkhorn resigns

Aug. 7 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) Finance chief Zachary Kirkhorn has resigned after four years in the role, the world’s most valuable automaker said on Monday, naming chief accountant Vaibhav Taneja in his place.

The Elon Musk-led firm did not specify a reason for the departure of Kirkhorn, who has been at Tesla for 13 years. He will remain with the company through the end of the year to help make the transition smooth.

During his tenure, Tesla posted its first quarterly profit after launching the mass-market Model 3 compact sedan and achieved a market valuation of more than $1 trillion.

Kirkhorn’s 2019 appointment and the departure of his predecessor Deepak Ahuja were revealed by Musk in a surprise move towards the end of a conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s quarterly results.

“Being a part of this company is a special experience and I am extremely proud of the work we have done together since I joined more than 13 years ago,” Kirkhorn said in a LinkedIn post.

Kirkhorn did not immediately respond to inquiries when reached on LinkedIn. Tesla shares fell 2%.

“That he will be around until the end of the year is evidence that this is just for personal reasons and the personal reason is likely to be that working with Elon Musk is really hard and has done for 13 years,” said Gene Munster, manager. partner at Deepwater Asset Management.

Taneja, 45, joined Tesla after the automaker acquired SolarCity in 2016. He takes the role, or so-called “Master of Coin,” in addition to his job as chief accounting officer, the automaker said.

The Austin, Texas-based automaker cut prices for its cars this year in a move that prioritized sales growth and market share and reduced its industry-leading margins.

Tesla has also hinted at more price cuts in what Musk called “turbulent times” as rising borrowing costs hit sales at EV makers.

Outgoing CFO Kirkhorn was also being considered as a possible successor to Musk earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported amid growing investor concern over the lack of a clear succession plan.

Musk currently leads SpaceX, Neuralink, the Boring Company, and is CTO at social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bangalore; Edited by Savio D’Souza and Arun Koyyur

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