Photo: Vaibhav Taneja, Zachary Kirkhorn via LinkedIn
Tesla filed a Form 8-K with the SEC, announcing that it appointed Vaibhav Taneja as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in addition to his current role as Chief Accounting Officer. The announcement took everyone by surprise, including Zachary Kirkhorn, the acting CFO, who learned today that he stepped down on Friday.
A surprising executive reshuffle muddies the waters at Tesla, causing the stock to tumble by 3.5% at the time of writing. A surprising executive reshuffle muddies the waters at Tesla, causing the stock to tumble by 3.5% after the stock exchange opening. Tesla closed on Friday at $253.86 but opened on Monday at $251.49 and dropped to $243.31 shortly after Yesla announced the change. It has recovered since then, and at the time of writing, Tesla stock traded at $246.46 (down 2.9%).
Tesla filed a Form 8-K with the SEC, announcing that the company's Chief Accounting Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, took over the Chief Financial Officer role as of August 4. The move was officially communicated on Monday, surprising even the acting CFO, Zachary Kirkhorn. This was obvious considering that he started his Monday morning LinkedIn post with, "This morning Tesla announced that I've stepped down from my role as Chief Financial Officer."
That's weird wording for a departure announcement and even more awkward considering that Kirkhorn was considered one of the possible Musk successors. Tesla did not specify a reason for his departure but said he would remain with the company through the end of the year "to support a seamless transition." This suggests that the break-up was on good terms, however surprising. In his farewell post on LinkedIn, Kirkhorn said he'll be shifting responsibilities to support the transition.
Kirkhorn departure was just as surprising as his appointment in 2019 when he replaced Deepak Ahuja. Kirkhorn departure was just as surprising as his appointment in 2019 when he replaced Deepak Ahuja. Back then, Elon Musk made the announcement towards the end of the Q3 2108 earnings call, again taking everyone by surprise. Following Ahuja's departure in 2019, Tesla shares dipped 4.5%. We see the market reacts similarly to Kirkhorn's replacement.
During his tenure, Kirkhorn has managed to connect with Musk in ways other executives could not. He handled many day-to-day duties at Tesla, acting more like a CEO. According to a Wall Street Journal report, this prompted Tesla board members to consider him a possible successor to Musk as CEO. From the outside, people saw Kirkhorn-Musk's relationship as similar to that between Tim Cook and Steve Jobs.
Zachary Kirkhorn has been with the company for the past 13 years, the last four years of which he has served as Chief Financial Officer and "Master of Coin." He was a mainstay presence at Tesla's earnings calls, offering straightforward answers, sometimes beyond his role as CFO. Kirkhorn is credited with the successful transition of Tesla from a startup to a fully-fledged carmaker. During his tenure, Tesla posted its first quarterly profit after it launched the Model 3 and hit a market valuation of more than $1 trillion.
Kirkhorn's successor Vaibhav Taneja joined Tesla in 2017 with the acquisition of Solar City after spending 16 years at PwC. He was named Tesla's Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) at the same time Zachary Kirkhorn was named CFO in March 2019. This is the second CFO replacement at Tesla in just over four years. Taneja will have the tough job of steering Tesla's finances during a time when Elon Musk sacrificed the profit margins to keep the vehicle sales flowing during difficult economic times.
Tesla filed a Form 8-K with the SEC, announcing that the company's Chief Accounting Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, took over the Chief Financial Officer role as of August 4. The move was officially communicated on Monday, surprising even the acting CFO, Zachary Kirkhorn. This was obvious considering that he started his Monday morning LinkedIn post with, "This morning Tesla announced that I've stepped down from my role as Chief Financial Officer."
That's weird wording for a departure announcement and even more awkward considering that Kirkhorn was considered one of the possible Musk successors. Tesla did not specify a reason for his departure but said he would remain with the company through the end of the year "to support a seamless transition." This suggests that the break-up was on good terms, however surprising. In his farewell post on LinkedIn, Kirkhorn said he'll be shifting responsibilities to support the transition.
Kirkhorn departure was just as surprising as his appointment in 2019 when he replaced Deepak Ahuja. Kirkhorn departure was just as surprising as his appointment in 2019 when he replaced Deepak Ahuja. Back then, Elon Musk made the announcement towards the end of the Q3 2108 earnings call, again taking everyone by surprise. Following Ahuja's departure in 2019, Tesla shares dipped 4.5%. We see the market reacts similarly to Kirkhorn's replacement.
During his tenure, Kirkhorn has managed to connect with Musk in ways other executives could not. He handled many day-to-day duties at Tesla, acting more like a CEO. According to a Wall Street Journal report, this prompted Tesla board members to consider him a possible successor to Musk as CEO. From the outside, people saw Kirkhorn-Musk's relationship as similar to that between Tim Cook and Steve Jobs.
Zachary Kirkhorn has been with the company for the past 13 years, the last four years of which he has served as Chief Financial Officer and "Master of Coin." He was a mainstay presence at Tesla's earnings calls, offering straightforward answers, sometimes beyond his role as CFO. Kirkhorn is credited with the successful transition of Tesla from a startup to a fully-fledged carmaker. During his tenure, Tesla posted its first quarterly profit after it launched the Model 3 and hit a market valuation of more than $1 trillion.
Kirkhorn's successor Vaibhav Taneja joined Tesla in 2017 with the acquisition of Solar City after spending 16 years at PwC. He was named Tesla's Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) at the same time Zachary Kirkhorn was named CFO in March 2019. This is the second CFO replacement at Tesla in just over four years. Taneja will have the tough job of steering Tesla's finances during a time when Elon Musk sacrificed the profit margins to keep the vehicle sales flowing during difficult economic times.
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