Vaibhav Taneja gets key role in Musk’s America Party

Trump calls Musk’s political venture “ridiculous” saying he was going  completely ‘off the rails,’ and essentially becoming a ‘TRAIN WRECK’

Elon Musk has named Tesla’s Indian American Chief Financial Officer, Vaibhav Taneja as the key official f his newly launched America Party in  response to President Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax bill that he says would bankrupt America.

According to official documents filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Taneja has been listed as both the Treasurer and Custodian of Records the for America party.

With more than two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and global leadership, Taneja, 47,  has long been seen as one of Musk’s key executives earning a staggering $139 million in 2024, far ahead of tech heavyweights like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Google’s Sundar Pichai in total earnings.

According to paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), now widely shared on social media, the America Party lists its headquarters at 1 Rocket Road, Hawthorne, California. The filing names Musk as the party’s sole candidate, while Taneja is listed as both the Treasurer and Custodian of Records, with a Texas-based address linked to him.

Born and raised in India, Taneja completed his commerce degree from Delhi University, went on to become a Chartered Accountant in 2000, and later earned his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) credential in 2006.

He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he worked for 17 years across offices in India and the U.S., advising Fortune 500 clients on financial controls and IPO preparation.

In 2016, Taneja joined SolarCity, the solar energy company founded by Elon Musk’s cousins. After Tesla acquired SolarCity later that year, he transitioned to Tesla.

By 2017, he was appointed Corporate Controller at Tesla. His rise was quick, he became Chief Accounting Officer in 2019 and took over as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in August 2023 after the departure of Zach Kirkhorn.

Taneja oversees Tesla’s global financial operations and has been a key player in the company’s India strategy. In January 2021, he was appointed as the director of Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt Ltd, the company’s Indian subsidiary.

Escalating his reignited feud with Trump, Musk announced the formation of the new party Saturday after an online poll declaring in a post on X, “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” he wrote.

Trump on Sunday hit back calling Musk’s plans to form a new party “ridiculous,” and launching new barbs at the tech billionaire saying he was going “completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.”

“I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party. We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it’s always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion,” Trump told reporters in New Jersey before leaving for Washington.

“It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous.”

Shortly after speaking about Musk, Trump posted further comments on his Truth Social platform, saying, “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.”

“What the heck was the point of @DOGE if he’s just going to increase the debt by $5 trillion??” Musk wrote on X on Sunday, referring to the government downsizing agency he briefly led. Critics have said the bill will damage the U.S. economy by significantly adding to the federal budget deficit.

Musk said his new party would in next year’s midterm elections look to unseat Republican lawmakers in Congress who backed the sweeping measure known as the “big, beautiful bill.”