With much financial manoeuvring to be done in 2019, Tesla’s numbers man quits
Tesla’s CFO heads for the exit during what analysts call a ‘make-or-break year’ for the company
Bengaluru/San Francisco — Tesla’s CFO will leave the company as the carmaker on Wednesday promised cheaper Model 3 sedans, the launch of Chinese production in 2019 and profits in every quarter in 2019. The departure of Deepak Ahuja as well as missing Wall Street profit targets for the end of 2018, sent Tesla shares down nearly 6% after hours. Zach Kirkhorn, Tesla’s vice-president of finance, will replace Ahuja. CEO Elon Musk has touted strong demand for the Model 3, as the company begins to ship the car to Europe and Asia from Fremont, California, factory. Musk acknowledged it was paramount to cut costs to lower the price of the vehicle for a wider customer base. “We have to be relentless about costs in order to make affordable cars and not go bankrupt,” he said on a conference call with analysts. While the company expressed optimism that it could post a profit in the first quarter despite fewer deliveries of its flagship S and X vehicles, Tesla warned of challenges such as logistic...
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