Vaibhav Taneja appointed as Tesla's new CFO as Kirkhorn steps down

Tesla finance chief Zachary 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 (pictured) 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. 

“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.

 

Kirkhorn did not immediately respond to queries when contacted on LinkedIn. Tesla shares were down more than 2 per cent in early trading.

Taneja, 45, joined Tesla after the automaker acquired SolarCity in 2016.