According to a regulatory filing, Zachary Kirkhorn, Tesla’s chief financial officer and self-proclaimed “Master of Coin,” left the company on August 4 after 13 years of service.
Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla’s current chief accounting officer, will succeed Kirkhorn. According to Tesla, the previous CFO will stay on board until the end of 2023 to help with the transition. The revelation caused a little decline in Tesla shares, which are still declining as the market opens.
Since March 2019, Taneja has served as Tesla’s chief financial officer. Before that position, he served as an assistant corporate controller from February 2017 to May 2018 and a corporate controller from May 2018. He also had a variety of financial and accounting positions at SolarCity Corporation, which Tesla bought in 2016.
Tesla shareholders had sued CEO Elon Musk and the business over that transaction, calling it a bailout and alleging the executive had forced Tesla’s board to purchase SolarCity. A Delaware judge decided in Musk’s favor in 2022.
It’s yet to be discovered why Zachary Kirkhorn left Tesla or his plans for the future. In a message on LinkedIn this morning announcing his departure, CFO Zachary Kirkhorn gave no further information.
Taneja’s decision to adopt the amusing moniker “Master of Coin” was not mentioned in Tesla’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In time for a comment, Tesla had yet to be reached. Source
