36 Vaibhav Taneja

Title: CFO Company: Tesla Industry: Automotive

Vaibhav’ s route to the top ran through accountancy exams rather than an MBA. He qualified as a chartered accountant in India before adding a US CPA, then joining Tesla via the SolarCity acquisition in 2016. He rose from Assistant Corporate Controller to Chief Accounting Officer, then to CFO in 2023 when Zachary Kirkhorn’ s abrupt exit saw him take up the job. His Tesla career has covered accounting, controls and corporate finance, giving him an unusually detailed view of the automaker’ s financial machinery.

54 financechief. com