Tesla loses its 'Master of Coin'

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. https://lnkd.in/e3qnhTvm

Zach Kirkhorn, Tesla’s chief financial officer?(who had been rumored as a potential successor to CEO Elon Musk) is leaving the company after 13 years. He has steered the company from being a $50 billion automaker to one that's now valued at $773 billion. Not bad for a guy who, when Musk announced he'd be taking over the CFO role, some analysts had no idea who he was. Read more at Fortune. https://lnkd.in/ehFg2EGD

India-born Vaibhav Taneja is new Tesla CFO Tesla on Monday announced that its CFO Zachary Kirkhorn has been replaced by Indian-origin accounting head Vaibhav Taneja who is known for his acumen with numbers. The 45-year-old takes on the role, or the so-called "Master of Coin" position, in addition to his job as chief accounting officer, the automaker said. Here are 7 things to know about the new Tesla CFO: 1.) Vaibhav Taneja joined Tesla in 2017, after a year at subsidiary SolarCity, a solar energy company that Tesla acquired in 2016, where he originally served as vice president and later corporate controller. 2.) He also led the successful integration of both the companies' accounting teams. 3.) Taneja was also appointed as a director for Tesla's Indian arm, Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited, in January 2021. 4.) He has more than two decades of accounting experience, having worked with multinational companies in technology, finance, retail, and telecommunications. 5.) Taneja has closely collaborated with previous CFOs Deepak Ahuja and Zachary Kirkhorn on Tesla's quarterly earnings, and US and international controllership. 6.) A commerce graduate from Delhi University, Vaibhav Taneja initially made an impression at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where he joined in 1996. 7.) From the India office, he relocated to the US, eventually spending nearly 17 years at the firm. With his expertise and experience I’m sure he continues to lead Tesla to better place.

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. https://lnkd.in/e3qnhTvm

Leadership transitions, especially when they seemingly come somewhat out of the blue, are tricky for businesses to handle. That's particularly true at a company like Tesla, where the leader is somewhat mercurial and the CFO has to play the role of translator and modifying influence - especially with Wall Street. It's unsurprising to see Tesla stock down 3% in the immediate aftermath, as investors get concerned about the implications. The company also needs to communicate clearly and openly with its employees, who will have concerns about the internal implications of this big name departure. Of course, all of this assumes that Tesla's CEO cares what investors or employees think, which remains somewhat of an open question. #corporatecommunications #leadershiptransition #investorrelations

Tesla's CFO and Master of Coin, Zach Kirkhorn, is stepping down. It's a big surprise and weighing on Tesla's shares as Kirkhorn's been at the heart of Tesla's profitability, capital raises and communicating with investors (with aplomb) on earnings calls. The EV maker's finance chief gave his notice on August 4 and will remain with the company through year-end to help with the transition of Tesla's Chief Accounting Officer Vaibhav Taneja who will add the CFO role to his job description. Kirkhorn's been at Tesla for 13 years. He took the finance reigns in early 2019 as a relatively unknown quantity to outsiders but with the full confidence of Musk and Co. having impressed in more junior finance roles. In that time Tesla's stock has soared, its profits grown and cash position bolstered. Here's our reporting on the news:

Tesla announced on Monday that CFO Zachary Kirkhorn resigned from his role there. He's staying on until the end of 2023 to help with a transition. The company's new CFO is chief accounting officer, Vaibhav Taneja. Taneja previously worked for another Musk family business, SolarCity. And he worked for PwC, Tesla's auditors, for almost two decades before that. More at @cnbc #tesla #executiveturnover

Tesla finance chief Zach Kirkhorn has stepped down after four years in the role, the world's most valuable automaker said on Monday and appointed accounting head Vaibhav Taneja in his place. The Elon Musk-led firm did not specify a reason for departure of Kirkhorn, who has been with the company for 13 years. He will remain with Tesla through the end of the year to aid a smooth transition. During his tenure, Tesla posted its first quarterly profit after it launched the mass-market Model 3 compact sedan and hit a market valuation of more than $1 trillion. Taneja, 45, joined Tesla after the automaker acquired SolarCity in 2016. He takes on the role, or the so-called "Master of Coin" position, in addition to his job as chief accounting officer, the automaker said. Read more on Reuters: https://lnkd.in/duxvbJa6 #Tesla #zacharykirkhorn #cfo

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. https://lnkd.in/e3qnhTvm