Tesla’s Vaibhav Taneja is the Highest Paid CFO in the US
NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Fremont, CA, May 23, 2025: Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, has made headlines by receiving a record-setting $139.5 million in total compensation for 2024, making him the highest-paid CFO in U.S. history. The compensation package, disclosed in Tesla’s latest SEC filing, surpasses all previous CFO pay records since modern reporting began in 2006.
Taneja’s compensation includes a base salary of $400,000, but the bulk—approximately $113 million—came from stock options, with an additional $26 million in restricted stock units. These equity awards were granted following his promotion to CFO in August 2023, reflecting both his performance and retention value to Tesla.
Born and raised in India, Taneja earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Delhi University in 1999 and became a Chartered Accountant in 2000. He later qualified as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the U.S. in 2006. Taneja spent nearly 17 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) across India and the U.S., eventually rising to the position of Senior Manager in Assurance. In 2016, he joined SolarCity, a solar energy firm that was soon acquired by Tesla, marking the beginning of his journey with the electric vehicle giant.
Under Taneja’s financial leadership, Tesla has navigated a challenging year. Despite a 13% drop in vehicle deliveries and a 71% fall in net profit during the first quarter of 2025, Tesla’s stock has shown resilience, with shares rising from around $250 at the time of his equity award to approximately $342.
Taneja’s rise to the highest-paid CFO underscores the growing prominence of Indian Americans in corporate leadership roles, joining the ranks of executives like Sundar Pichai of Alphabet and Satya Nadella of Microsoft.
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