Tesla CFO and Google's former VP of Finance Jason Wheeler has announced during the company's 4th Quarter earnings call that he will be leaving Tesla effective in April 2017 to pursue his interests in the public sector. Taking his place will be former Tesla CFO Deepak Ahuja, who will be returning in March to fill the position, once again, but this time, in a permanent capacity.
Musk Respects and Supports Wheeler's Decision
According to TeslaRati, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has expressed his support for Wheeler's plans towards moving into the public sector during today's Q&A call. Musk also confirmed in the call that Deepak would be joining the company, this time, as a long term replacement, rather than the former interim replacement.
"Jason has been a crucial and important member of Tesla's leadership team, and he has played a key role in further improving the company's financial state," Musk said in Tesla's blog post this afternoon.
Wheeler has also welcomed the return of Ahuja during the said call, saying that he is pretty much contented and assured with his replacement. "Deepak is super energized and ready to go, he's a great leader and can truly make things happen for this company," Wheeler said.
Ahuja's Previous Mark With Tesla
According to Seeking Alpha, Deepak Ahuja first joined Tesla in 2008, during the time when the company was experiencing some financial troubles as Tesla's first CFO. He would, later on, lead Tesla through its successful IPO.
Ahuja then left the company, and aimed for retirement in 2015, and now is returning from retirement to rejoin Tesla. He also previously joined the board of FireEye, a cyber security firm in September of 2015 as he prepared to enter retirement.
Ahuja To Bring New Ideas And Concepts To Tesla
With Deepak back as the company's CFO, he will also bring back the extensive experience that he acquired from the high-volume manufacturer Ford Motor Company, as Tesla enters a new age of high-volume manufacturing with their up and coming Model 3. Deepak was also the CFO of Ford South Africa, as well as being involved in the joint-venture between Ford and Mazda.
