A Look At Vaibhav Taneja's Inspiring Journey From A DU Graduate To CFO Of Tesla

Vaibhav Taneja, an alumnus of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), was honoured by the organisation for his appointment the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Tesla. Taneja assumed the position after the previous finance chief Zachary Kirkhorn stepped down. The Indian-origin entrepreneur will hold the post of both Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) and CFO at Tesla.

ICAI applauded its alumnus in a post for his enormous accomplishment and for serving as an example to all chartered accountants. The organsiation wrote, “Congratulations to CA. @VaibhavIanej on his remarkable achievement of being appointed as the new #CFO of @Tesla. A true inspiration to all #CharteredAccountants, hip journey from 2000 reflects dedication & accomplishment. CAI sends its best wishes for a successful tenure.”

Vaibhav Taneja obtained a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Delhi University. Between 1997 and 2000, he also pursued his chartered accountancy at ICAI. He spent nearly 17 years working at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which is one of the big four accounting firms. Taneja has over two decades’ experience of working with multinationals in the sectors of retail, technology, and telecommunication. He also has experience with financial statement audit to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

After his stint at PwC, Vaibhav Taneja worked at SolarCity Corporation, a US-based manufacturer of solar panels in 2016. The company was acquired by Tesla the same year. Taneja helped in the successful integration of the accounting teams of the two firms.

Vaibhav Taneja has served as Tesla’s Corporate Controller from May 2018 to March 2019. He was appointed the CAO in March 2019. He served as the Assistant Corporate Controller from February 2017 to May 2018. He assumed the post of director in Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited in January 2021.

In a company filing, Tesla described Zachary Kirkhorn’s 13-year-long CFO tenure as a period of “tremendous expansion and growth,” adding that he will carry on to serve Tesla until the end of the year in order to facilitate a smooth transition.