Tesla's CFO unexpectedly resigned, leaving the successor of Tesla in suspense. Tesla's stock once dropped more than 4.4%.

Tesla submitted a document to the US SEC on Monday, stating that its Chief Financial Officer, Zachary Kirkhorn, resigned on August 4th. Vaibhav Taneja, the Chief Accounting Officer, has been appointed as the new CFO and will hold both positions simultaneously.

Kirkhorn, 39, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and joined Tesla in 2010, where he has worked for 13 years. He started at Tesla as a Senior Financial Analyst and has been promoted five times, most recently to CFO in early 2019. Kirkhorn is one of only four executives at Tesla and is an important spokesperson for the company among shareholders. He will continue to work at the company until the end of this year to ensure a smooth transition.

Prior to Kirkhorn taking on the role of CFO, Tesla had been incurring long-term losses, burning over $1 billion in cash in some quarters. However, since his appointment, Tesla has consistently been profitable and has repaid approximately $10 billion in debt over the past three years, earning an investment-grade rating. Tesla also joined the S&P 500 index in December 2020.

Kirkhorn has been praised by investors for his detailed speeches during Tesla's quarterly earnings calls, particularly for his cost control efforts. He often discusses how recurring software revenue will play an increasingly significant role in the future. Industry insiders commend Kirkhorn for his success in expanding profit margins. Typically, when a company scales up production, profit margins come under pressure, but Kirkhorn has managed this exceptionally well.

According to Bloomberg, as of July, Kirkhorn held 197,540 shares of Tesla stock, valued at approximately $49 million. He recently sold stocks worth around $1 million.

On Monday, Kirkhorn wrote on LinkedIn:

Being part of this company has been a special experience, and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together. I also want to thank Elon for his leadership and optimism, which has inspired many.

As I transition responsibilities to support this change, I want to express my gratitude to the talented, passionate, and hardworking employees at Tesla who have achieved what many thought was impossible.

Tesla's new CFO, Taneja, is 45 years old and has been with the company since 2017. Prior to becoming the company's Chief Accounting Officer in 2019, he held various positions at Tesla. Before joining Tesla, he worked at SolarCity, which was acquired by Tesla. Taneja previously worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in India and the United States for approximately 17 years. PricewaterhouseCoopers is Tesla's auditor.

Taneja's appointment as CFO has significantly raised his profile, as he was not among the 16 executives who joined Elon Musk on stage at the investor conference in March. In early 2021, about a month after Tesla disclosed its $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin, Kirkhorn added the half-joking title of "Currency Master" to his own profile, alongside Musk's "Tesla Technoking" title. The filing submitted by Tesla on Monday did not mention "Currency Master" as one of Taneja's roles as the new CFO.

Kirkhorn's departure comes at a time when Tesla is engaged in a fierce price war in the competitive electric vehicle market. Currently, Tesla is building a new factory in Mexico and preparing to launch its Cybertruck pickup truck.

Kirkhorn was once considered the strongest contender to succeed Musk as CEO, and his departure has once again raised uncertainty among Tesla's leadership. Kirkhorn's departure also marks the second time in over four years that Tesla has changed its CFO.

The personnel changes in Tesla's CFO position came as a surprise to the outside world. In response to this news, Tesla's stock price fell during early trading. Tesla's stock briefly dropped more than 4.4%, hitting an intraday low of $242.76, the lowest since June 27. When Tesla's former CFO, Deepak Ahuja, left the company in 2019, Tesla's stock price fell by 4.5%.