Vaibhav Taneja: 7 things to know about Tesla's new Indian-origin CFO

Vaibhav Taneja had joined Tesla in 2017. (Image credit: LinkedIn)

Tesla on Monday announced that its CFO Zachary Kirkhorn has been replaced by Indian-origin accounting head Vaibhav Taneja who is known for his acumen with numbers.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.

Read more: Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn steps down, replaced by Vaibhav Taneja

In related news, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met senior US-based Tesla executives recently in a closed-door meeting to discuss the carmaker's plans to establish a manufacturing plant in the country, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told news agency Reuters.

Tesla has expressed an interest in building a factory in India that would produce a low-cost electric vehicle (EV) priced at $24,000, around 25% cheaper than Tesla's current entry model, for both the Indian market and export.

Tesla's senior public policy and business development executive Rohan Patel, and a vice president for supply chain, Roshan Thomas, also met officials from the Invest India agency during their time in the country.

Their meeting with Goyal, however, was the most high-profile one since Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June in New York, with the billionaire later saying he was keen to make significant investments in the country.