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Comment by andreygrehov | Hacker News Reader

People come, people leave. Why is that a big news?

The CFO leaving is always a big deal. It can mean nothing but it can also mean a really spectacular blowup is about to take place.

It's always a big deal, but can also mean nothing? So, pure speculation?

The vast majority of the time it’s a big deal, which makes it newsworthy. As well, any well run company would announce at least a few quarters in advance that the CFO is leaving.

They don’t abruptly quit or get fired after 13 years without something brewing

With respect, I do not think this is a newsworthy case.

> Mr. Kirkhorn will continue to serve Tesla through the end of the year to support a seamless transition.

Absolutely zero things to discuss here.

This isn’t the own you think it is. C-level execs are often contractually obliged to serve out lengthy notice periods, a quarter and some change is nothing unusual.

You must be new here. Many companies keep ex-C-levels nominally employed as 'consultants' so their stock can vest (which is typically the bulk of their compensation) and avoid any expensive/public lawsuits. It's paying them off to quietly go away without spending any cash.

Actually the vast majority of the time it's not at all a big deal. The average tenure of a CFO among the S&P 500 is 3.5 years. It's really not a big deal.

Care to make a wager?

Yes, this thread is obviously speculation. That's the purpose of it.

That seems like a contradiction. How can something always be a big deal if it can mean nothing?

E.g. The fire alarm going off is always a big deal even if there is not always a fire.

Interesting, almost every case I know of where a fire alarm has gone off, no one really cared. I even remember a fire alarm going off in an actual movie theater and no one budged.

I'm going to maintain my position that a precondition for something always being a big deal is that it must always be meaningful. Fire alarms are sometimes a big deal, but sometimes they are just noise. I think the CFO of Tesla stepping down is also just noise as well, but you are welcome to think otherwise.

13 years is a long tenure as CFO, on surface this means nothing.

I think it's 13 years at Tesla, 4 years as CFO.

Got it. Still not a red flag though. CFO tenure is rather low. This thread points out more so how Musk has become a villain in the tech sphere and people are looking for reasons to vilify him and anything he’s associated with.

Exactly. Since CFOs are in charge of the numbers and can be legally on the hook for them [1], their departure always gets people to perk up a bit. Even if there isn't crime involved, when they guy who knows the financials best decides he'd rather be elsewhere, it can be a sign that there's a coming plateau or downturn.

That's especially interesting in the case of Tesla, whose stock is down something like 40% from peak, and who is facing increasingly stiff competition from basically every automaker in the world.

[1] e.g., "fraud by negligence": https://www.reuters.com/business/sec-charges-smart-window-ma...

That is just flat out factually wrong. CFO just like ever other position sometimes switch jobs.

For context, C-Suite roles rarely change without an announcement far in advance or a complete change of leadership.

(I know nothing about Telsa's current affairs, but a CFO change this sudden without any other announcement is sure to cause investor concern and likely foreshadows some bigger press.)

Dude is sticking around for another 6 months, so is 6 months far enough in advance?

That doesn't mean anything at the C level, the 6 months isn't his choice. They almost always transition out unless there is reputational damage involved, it's written into their contracts.

Why 6 months looks to me like 3 months.

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