Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn Sold Shares Days Before Stepping Down, New CFO Also Sold Shares Prior To Taking New Role

Zachary Kirkhorn, who recently stepped down as Chief Financial Officer of Tesla Inc TSLA, is one of several executives who have been actively selling shares of Tesla over the past year.

What Happened: After 13 years with Tesla and serving various roles — four as CFO — Kirkhorn is stepping down from the company.

The move was met with mixed reactions by the community with some suggesting that the CFO and Tesla CEO Elon Musk may have had a disagreement about something.

Musk brushed off the notion and thanked Kirkhorn for his service and said the former Tesla executive will take some time before he takes on a new job, which hit back on rumors he was taking on a new job right away.

Kirkhorn was paid $300,000 annually according to reports and also earned millions thanks to his Tesla stock and options over the years.

Benzinga recently shared Kirkhorn had accumulated a net worth of $590 million thanks to his Tesla stake.

Related Link: Tesla Q2 Earnings Highlights: Revenue Beat, EPS Beat, Cybertruck Update And More 

Insider Sales: A look at the insider transactions for Tesla shows several executives, including Kirkhorn, have been selling shares of the electric vehicle company in 2022 and 2023.

Before the announcement that Kirkhorn was stepping down, the CFO sold shares of Tesla in July as part of a 10b5-1 pre-scheduled plan. Kirkhorn sold 3,750 shares of Tesla at an average price point of $278.70. The transaction brought in $1.05 million for Kirkhorn and left him with 197,540 shares valued at more than $49 million.

On Tuesday night, Tesla reported another transaction by Kirkhorn that revealed more shares sold. Kirkhorn sold another 3,750 shares of Tesla for an average price of $261 on Aug. 4, 2023. The transaction, which took place one business day before it was announced he was stepping down, brought in $978,750 for Kirkhorn.

The August transaction was also part of a 10b5-1 pre-scheduled plan. After the transaction, Kirkhorn owns 193,790 shares of Tesla.

Along with the Kirkhorn transaction, Tesla also reported in a filing that newly named CFO Vaibhav Taneja exercised options that were then sold.

Taneja exercised 4,000 options at $18.22 and sold the shares for an average of $261. The transaction was done on Aug. 4, 2023, and brought in $1.04 million to Taneja.

After the transaction, Taneja owned 104,504.25 shares of Tesla and additional options.

The transaction by Taneja was part of a 10b5-1 plan adopted in February 2023. Like Kirkhorn, Taneja has also been selling shares of Tesla throughout 2023.

Taneja’s filing included the explanation that a portion of the shares sold was done to cover tax withholding obligations.

Insider trades can be an indicator for investors about a company, with some investors attributing insider buying as a bullish case and insider trading as a bearish case. Transactions that happen as part of pre-scheduled plans aren’t as easy to navigate as they are often done to cover tax payments and for other personal reasons.

As previously shared by Benzinga, investors could have profited nicely if they invested alongside Kirkhorn becoming the CFO of Tesla. 

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