Everything You Need To Know About Tesla’s New Indian-Origin CFO Vaibhav Taneja

As the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla prepares for an India launch, the US-based company has appointed Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja, formerly the chief accounting officer at Tesla, as the chief financial officer (CFO). 

Taneja will handle both responsibilities at the same time, replacing Zachary Kirkhorn who is leaving the company after a 13-year stint. While the Elon Musk-led tech giant has not specified a reason for the departure, Kirkhorn will continue in his role until the end of the year.

“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,” said Kirkhorn in a LinkedIn post.

While the EV giant has appointed Indians to top positions before – Deepak Ahuja was Tesla’s CFO for nearly a decade across two stints – the timing of Vaibhav Taneja’s appointment is particularly interesting, as Tesla looks to gear up for a launch in India.

Who Is Vaibhav Taneja?

Vaibhav Taneja is a commerce graduate from the University of Delhi and a Chartered Accountant (CA) by training. He first joined Tesla following the EV giant’s acquisition of SolarCity in 2016, having worked with the clean energy company as VP of accounting operations and corporate controller.

Before Tesla, Taneja made a name for himself, spending 17 years at PriceWaterhouseCoopers since joining in 1996. The incumbent Tesla CFO has more than two decades of experience working in accounting with various multinational companies in tech, finance, retail and telecom.

Vaibhav Taneja is also spearheading Tesla’s entry into the Indian market. In January 2021, Taneja was appointed as the director for Tesla’s Indian arm, Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited.

The appointment comes at a time when Tesla is aiming to boost its sales and capture more market share. The auto major even reduced the prices of its cars following that aim which squeezed its industry-leading margins, as per a report by the news agency Reuters.

Tesla’s India Bid

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently met senior US-based Tesla executives last week in a closed-door meeting to discuss the carmaker’s plans to establish a manufacturing plant in the country, Reuters reported citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Tesla has expressed an interest in building a manufacturing facility in India that would produce a low-cost EV priced at $24,000 (around INR 20 Lakhs), nearly 25% cheaper than Tesla’s current entry model, for both the Indian market and export.

The carmaker’s senior officials have been meeting government officials since May. Later in July, Tesla’s senior public policy and business development executive Rohan Patel and a vice president for supply chain, Roshan Thomas, also met officials from Invest India.

Their meeting with Goyal was the most high-profile one since Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June in New York.