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Deepak Ahuja - Tesla Motors’ new CFO

By: Anantha :+: Under: Asides, Brown in America, Business, Cars, Technology
On: ⋅ August 5, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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If you are a enthusiast with a keen interest in automobiles and the business in general, like a couple of us Über bloggers are, you will certainly recognize Tesla Motors.

Tesla is an automobile startup that produces high performance automobiles with a difference - their cars are battery-electric hybrids. Their first first production vehicle (lucky customers have started taking deliveries), the Tesla Roadster, is an all-electric sports car capable of a top (governed) speed of 125 mph with a range of 221 miles on a single charge.

The reason that we is talking about Tesla today is that the company has gotten itself its first Über CFO. Ex- Ford executive Deepak Ahuja is joining Tesla as their new CFO. Previously Ahuja (an IT-BHU, Northwestern and Carnegie Melon alum) was the controller/CFO for a number of successive Ford ventures. Most recently, Deepak oversaw the financial angles of Ford’s strategic initiative to bring several of their fuel efficient cars from Europe to the US.

Considering the birthing pains that Tesla has undergone - their founders acrimonious departure, the Fisker lawsuits, the powertrain issues - the company seems to be finally moving forward with the customer deliveries.

And regardless of Fisker’s plans to introduce a similar car of their own, Tesla is still considered by many as the pioneer of eco-friendly sports car. Tesla has recently set up a design studio and just yesterday, it was announced that Franz von Holzhausen, hot shot head of Mazda’s design studio (and the main brain behind several Mazda concepts that have recently appeared in various autoshows to universal acclaim) has been picked to lead it.

While it remains to be seen if Ahuja’s contributions to Ford’s successes (the paradigm shift to get Ford’s hot Euro offerings to the US should count as a success, IMHO) will move with him to Tesla, things should certainly improve. So Ahuja certainly seems to be joining Tesla at a time when its stock is rising. We, at ÜberDesi, wish him the very best.

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