Tesla CFO Steps Down

Tesla Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Zachary Kirkhorn has stepped down after four years in the role, the carmaker said on Monday and named accounting head Vaibhav Taneja in his place.

The Elon Musk-led firm did not specify a reason for the departure of Kirkhorn, who has been with Tesla for 13 years. He will remain with the company to 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 R18.70-trillion).

Kirkhorn’s appointment in 2019 and his predecessor Deepak Ahuja’s exit was disclosed 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’m proud of the work we’ve done together since I joined more than 13 years ago,” Kirkhorn said in a LinkedIn post.

He did not immediately respond to queries when contacted on LinkedIn. Tesla shares were down about 2%. “That he’s going to be around until the end of the year is evidence this is for personal reasons and the personal reason is likely to be that working with Elon Musk is hard and he’s done it for 13 years,” said Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management.

Taneja, 45, joined Tesla after the carmaker acquired SolarCity in 2016. He takes on the role, or the so-called “Master of Coin” position, in addition to his job as CAO, Tesla said.

The Austin, Texas-based carmaker this year cut prices of its cars in a move that prioritised sales growth and market share and squeezed its industry-leading margins.

Tesla has also hinted at more price cuts in what Musk called “turbulent times” as rising borrowing costs take a toll on the sales of electric vehicle makers.

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

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