In a recent filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, Tesla revealed that CFO Zachary Kirkhorn, 39, stepped down from his role on August 4. Vaibhav Taneja, the Chief Accounting Officer, was announced as Kirkhorn's successor and will hold both positions.
Kirkhorn, a University of Pennsylvania alumnus, joined Tesla in 2010 and has dedicated 13 years to the company. Starting his journey as a senior financial analyst, Kirkhorn was promoted five times, most recently becoming CFO in early 2019. As one of Tesla's four executive officers and a significant representative among shareholders, he will continue to serve the company until year's end, ensuring a smooth transition.
Before Kirkhorn's tenure as CFO, Tesla often reported losses, with some quarters burning through more than $1 billion in cash. However, under his leadership, the company consistently reported profits, repaying approximately $10 billion in debt over the past three years and joining the S&P 500 Index in December 2020.
Industry insiders frequently praised Kirkhorn for his detailed statements during Tesla's quarterly financial calls and his success in cost control. He often spoke about how recurring software revenues would play an increasingly significant role in the future. His efforts in expanding profit margins, especially during phases of production scale-up, were particularly noted as commendable.
Data compiled by Bloomberg showed that as of July, Kirkhorn held 197,540 shares of Tesla stock, valued at approximately $49 million. He recently sold stock worth around $1 million.
In a LinkedIn post, Kirkhorn expressed immense pride in the work achieved with Tesla and gratitude for Elon Musk's leadership and optimism that inspired many. He thanked Tesla's talented and hard-working employees for achieving feats deemed impossible by many as he began his transition.
The newly appointed CFO, Taneja, 45, has been with Tesla since 2017, holding various positions before becoming the company's accounting head in 2019. Before joining Tesla, Taneja worked at SolarCity, which was later acquired by Tesla. He spent approximately 17 years working for PwC in India and the U.S., which happens to be Tesla's auditor. This new appointment has considerably boosted Taneja's recognition, as he wasn't among the 16 executives who shared the stage with Musk during the investor conference in March.
In early 2021, about a month after Tesla disclosed a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin, Kirkhorn humorously added "Master of Coin" to his title, while Musk adopted the title "Technoking of Tesla". Monday's filing did not indicate if Taneja would assume the "Master of Coin" role.
Kirkhorn's exit comes amid Tesla's price battle in the fiercely competitive electric vehicle market. The company is currently building a new factory in Mexico and preparing to launch its Cybertruck pickup.
Once viewed as a strong contender to succeed Musk as CEO, Kirkhorn's departure reintroduces uncertainty in Tesla's leadership. This also marks the second time in just over four years that Tesla has changed its CFO.
The personnel shift caught the external community by surprise. Affected by this news, Tesla's stock price fell in early trading, dropping by more than 4.4% at one point to a low of $242.76, a dip not seen since June 27. When previous CFO Deepak Ahuja left Tesla in 2019, Tesla's stock price also decreased by 4.5%.
