Meet man, an Indian, who manages the finances of the world’s richest person Musk, earns Rs 11500000000 salary, not from IIT, IIM, name is….
Elon Musk is the richest person in the world. His electric car company, Tesla, has recently entered the Indian market. While Musk’s companies have thousands of employees, he chose Indian-origin Tesla executive Vaibhav Taneja as treasurer and custodian of records for Musk’s newly launched political party, called the “America Party”. Before getting the role f Treasurer, Taneja was the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of Tesla.
This means that Vaibhav is in charge of all the finances, not just for Tesla, but also for Musk’s political ambitions. He has been working with Musk since 2017, and over the years, Musk has kept giving him more and more key responsibilities.
Who is Vaibhav Taneja, the Indian behind Tesla’s finances
Vaibhav Taneja comes from India. He studied Commerce at Delhi University and finished his degree in 1999. The next year, in 2000, he became a Chartered Accountant (CA). In 2006, he moved to the United States for higher studies and earned a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) qualification.
Before joining Tesla in 2017, Vaibhav worked at SolarCity, which later became part of Tesla. Earlier, he spent almost 17 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he helped over 500 clients with financial planning and IPO filings.
In 2023, he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Tesla. In 2024, he earned a total salary of about USD 139.5 million, which is roughly Rs. 1,157 crore in Indian currency.
What’s interesting is that his base salary was just USD 400,000, but most of his earnings came from Tesla stock options and equity awards, which made his total income much higher.
Apart from being Tesla’s CFO, Vaibhav is also the Director of Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt. Ltd. He plays a big role in growing Tesla’s presence in India, and was closely involved in opening the company’s first showroom in the country.
Vaibhav also handles finances for Elon Musk’s political party, called the America Party. As the Treasurer, he looks after donations, ensures financial transparency, and makes sure all money matters follow legal rules. From regular expenses to managing election funds, Vaibhav is responsible for it all.
Elon Musk launches ‘America Party’ after breaking ties with Donald Trump
After falling out with his former ally Donald Trump, Elon Musk has launched a new political group called the America Party. He shared the news on X (formerly Twitter), saying the party was created to challenge what he called America’s “one-party system.”
Musk wrote, “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
He also added, “When it comes to wasting money and corruption, both parties act the same. It’s not a real democracy — it’s a one-party system.”
On July 1, just after the Senate passed a new tax and spending bill, Musk posted:
“If this crazy bill is passed, I’ll launch the America Party the very next day. Our country needs a real choice, not just Democrats and Republicans pretending to be different.”
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