Tesla (TSLA) announced through an SEC filing that the company had appointed Zachary Kirkhorn as its Chief Financial Officer to succeed Deepak Ahuja. Mr. Kirkhorn served the company as VP, Finance, Financial Planning and Business Operations since December 2018. Tesla also appointed Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla’s current Corporate Controller since May 2018, as its Chief Accounting Officer.
Tesla shares rose about 1% in the pre-market and opened up 1.2% at $292.45 when the trading started today.
Kirkhorn, first joined Tesla in March 2010 and has continuously served in various roles in its finance department other than a two-year period between 2011 and 2013. Kirkhorn will receive a stock option grant of $12 million and a restricted stock unit grant of $4 million, which will be granted and will vest over four years in accordance with Tesla’s standard equity policies.
Before working as a Corporate Controller in Tesla, Taneja served as the company’s Assistant Corporate Controller between February 2017 and May 2018. Taneja will receive a stock option grant of $6 million and a restricted stock unit grant of $2 million, which will be granted and will vest over four years in accordance with Tesla’s standard equity policies.
In January, long-term Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja stepped down, joining the dozens of executives who quit the tech firm in the last three years. In February, Tesla’s general counsel Dane Butswinkas departed from the company to resume his legal practice. He was involved in the legal procedures related to the lawsuit filed by the SEC against CEO Elon Musk.
Tesla lost two CAOs in 2018. The former Seagate Technology (STX) CFO Dave Morton resigned in September 2018 within less than 40 days of his appointment. In March 2018, Tesla revealed in an SEC filing that then CAO Eric Branderiz has quit the company for personal reasons.
Despite starting 2019 on a positive note, Tesla shares lost momentum after the initial rally and dropped 13% since the beginning of the year.