Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, has emerged as one of the highest-paid executives in the corporate world, with a staggering total compensation of $139 million (around Rs 1,157 crore) in 2024. The Indian-origin executive’s earnings, driven primarily by stock options and equity awards following his promotion in 2023, have eclipsed those of several prominent technology CEOs.
Taneja’s base salary for the year stood at $400,000 (around Rs 3.33 crore), but the largest share of his pay came in the form of performance-based equity linked to Tesla’s surging stock. The company’s share price has risen sharply, climbing from around $250 (around Rs 20,800) at the time of his equity grant to $342 (around Rs 28,400) as of May 19, 2025, despite broader concerns about declining electric vehicle deliveries and profit margins.
Tesla CFO salary vs Google CEO vs Microsoft CEO
His compensation now places him ahead of Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, who earned $79.1 million (around Rs 658 crore), and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, whose remuneration stood at $10.73 million (around Rs 89 crore) for the same period. Taneja’s payout also breaks previous records for CFO compensation, surpassing the $86 million (Rs 715 crore) received by Nikola’s finance chief in 2020 — a record set before the company’s eventual bankruptcy in 2024.
With this, Taneja has entered a rarefied tier of corporate leadership, becoming one of the highest-paid finance executives. The jaw-dropping pay has placed the Indian-origin executive firmly in the spotlight, underscoring both Tesla’s aggressive compensation strategy and the growing prominence of CFOs in the tech industry’s top ranks.
Tesla CEO Vaibhav Taneja’s work experience
Taneja, 47, is a Chartered Accountant and an alumnus of the University of Delhi, holding a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he worked for 17 years across India and the United States between 1999 and 2016.
In 2016, Taneja joined SolarCity Corporation, a solar energy firm later acquired by Tesla. He played a crucial role in merging the financial operations of both companies. His Tesla journey began in 2017 as Assistant Corporate Controller, followed by successive promotions to Corporate Controller in 2018 and Chief Accounting Officer in 2019.
He was also appointed director of Tesla’s Indian subsidiary, Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited, in 2021. In August 2023, Taneja was elevated to the role of Chief Financial Officer at Tesla, a move that set the stage for his record-breaking compensation package.
Despite Tesla facing several operational headwinds, Taneja’s windfall underscores the continued influence of equity-based incentives in executive pay — especially when tied to stock performance.