Vaibhav Taneja, financial director of Tesla, became last year one of the best paid managers in the world. Its compensation amounted to $ 139.5 million, the largest published for the past year for a manager of a quoted company. Taneja received a salary of $ 303,846, but also had an award in shares of 26.1 million dollars and an incentive in options on shares of another 113 million dollars, according to the annual report of the company.
Vaibhav Taneja, 47, has been a financial director of Tesla since August 2023. Before his appointment as financial director, he held the position of Accounting Director since March 2019, the corporate controller since May 2018 and the Deputy Corporate Controller between February 2017 and May 2018. Taneja held various positions in the financial and accounting field in Solarcity since March 2016. by the University of Delhi and is a certified public accountant, although inactive.
This remuneration of 139 million dollars exceeds that of any of the CEOs of American traded companies whose compensation has been made public so far.
His boss, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, does not have an annual remuneration recognized, so that his 2024 salary is void, but the tycoon has received the company’s shares for tens of billions of dollars, although part of his remuneration have been challenged and annulled. The tycoon continues to battle for an award in shares currently valued at about 78,000 million dollars.
The Annual Report recalls that on June 4, 2018, a Tesla shareholder filed a lawsuit before the Delaware Chancellery Court against Elon Musk and certain directors in relation to the approval by the Tesla Board of Directors of the 2018 Incentive billionaire for the tycoon.
The Court issued an opinion on January 30, 2024 in which it estimated the applicant’s request that this award was revoked, consisting of options on 303.96 million shares to be acquired at a price of $ 23.34, when they quote $ 282.
After the judicial resolution, the Tesla Council decided to take that incentive to the Board last year to ratify and recommended the shareholders to vote in favor. The ratification was approved by the Board, after which, Tesla asked the Court of Delaware to review its decision to revoke the incentive. However, on December 2, 2024, the Delaware Court rejected the request to review its decision and two weeks later issued a final sentence by which the prize was annulled. Tesla has resorted to the decision, like several counselors of the company, according to the annual report.
The Tesla document proclaims that the company’s mission is to “accelerate the world transition towards sustainable energy”, although its boss, Elon Musk, is part of a cabinet, that of Donald Trump, which is decidedly committed to fossil energies and combat renewable wings.
Musk recently announced that he will spend more time to Tesla and less to Donald Trump. For investors, that is great news, after the damage caused by the magnate to the car brand for its role in the government efficiency department (Doge). After announcing that he would not leave his political work completely to avoid “the destruction” of the United States, Musk said the words that the shareholders wanted to hear. “I think that probably from next month, May, my time dedicated to Doge will be significantly reduced,” he said in a call with analysts to present the results. “From next month, I will dedicate much longer to Tesla,” he added.
