Tesla Paid CFO Vaibhav Taneja $139M In 2024, Says Annual Report: Retail Stays Extremely Bullish

Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CFO Vaibhav Taneja received a pay package of $139 million last year, including base pay, stock options, and equity awards, according to the company’s annual report.

The report showed that Taneja was given option awards of over $113 million in 2024 and stock awards of over $26 million in addition to base salary, bringing his annual compensation to about $139.47 million.

Tesla’s compensation committee changed Taneja’s compensation in October 2024 due to his promotion as the company's CFO in August 2023.

However, the committee did not grant equity awards to other executives, including CEO Elon Musk, in 2024.

A report from The Wall Street Journal noted that this compensation to Taneja is more than that of most chief executives and the highest paid to a CFO since modern reporting began in 2006. Bankrupt EV truck maker Nikola paid its then-CFO Kim Brady $86 million in 2020 in a not-so-close second.

Taneja has held various roles at Tesla since 2017. Before that, he worked with SolarCity, a California-based solar energy company founded by Musk’s cousin. Tesla acquired SolarCity in 2016 and reorganized it as Tesla Energy.

Musk, meanwhile, is working without compensation at Tesla. In January 2024, a Delaware judge voided Musk’s $56 billion compensation plan from 2018, noting that it was excessive. Last week, the Financial Times reported that a special committee is in the early stages of crafting a potential new pay package for Musk.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Tesla stayed unmoved within the ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours while message volume dipped from ‘normal’ to ‘low’ levels.

TSLA stock is trading about 1% higher on Tuesday. Although the stock has been down by over 9% this year, it has nearly doubled in value over the past 12 months.

Also See: Palantir Teams With Divergent To Launch AI-Driven Manufacturing Platform: But Retail Turns Bearish

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