Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja, who is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of electric car company tesla, has come into the limelight all over the world for his record-breaking earnings in 2024. He has secured a total package of $139.5 million (about Rs 1160 crore) this year, which is more than veteran CEOs like satya Nadella (Microsoft) and Sundar Pichai (Google). His journey, which started from Delhi University, has now become an example of global success.
The story from delhi to Wall Street
Vaibhav Taneja graduated in commerce from delhi University in 1999 and then became a chartered accountant. Then he also obtained the title of Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the US in 2006. He worked for about 17 years in PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) in india and the US. He joined SolarCity in 2016 and his real flight began when the company merged with tesla in 2017.
Rapid growth in Tesla
Taneja started as a corporate controller at Tesla. Then in 2018 he became corporate Controller, Chief Accounting Officer in 2019 and finally CFO in august 2023. Along with this, he is also the director of tesla india Motors and Energy and is playing an important role in shaping Tesla's strategy in India.
Earnings of $ 139.5 million
A large part of his earnings in 2024 is based on shares, which will be completely vested in the next 4 years. When this package was decided, the price of Tesla's share was $ 250, which later increased to $ 342 - making his total earnings even higher. This amount is much more than satya Nadella ($ 79.1 million) and Sundar Pichai ($ 10.7 million). It even surpassed the record of $86 million set by Nikola's CFO in 2020.
Questions amid growing criticism
Tesla is currently facing challenges like declining sales of electric vehicles and falling profit margins. In such a situation, questions are bound to be raised on Taneja's huge salary. However, the company believes that it is important to reward experienced financial leadership in difficult times, so that the company can get stability and growth.
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