Yesterday Tesla announced that their CFO, Zachary Kirkhorn would depart
Tesla
In a surprising turn of events, Tesla's CFO, Zachary Kirkhorn, known to many as the 'Master of Coin', has announced his resignation. Like any business, small or large, people come and go. But this isn't an average person at a normal company. Kirkhorn was deep in the trenches from the early days of the little start-up electric car company, and his departure leaves us only to speculate what happened and what happens now both at Tesla and for Kirkhorn.
Tesla Today and into the Future
The short answer to what happens now is Kirkhorn will stay on until the end of the year; however, his responsibilities have been handed over to Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla's Chief Accounting Officer since 2019 after joining the company in 2017 following the purchase of SolarCity.
Kirkhorn is going out with his head held high and still a true believer in Tesla's vision, as he is sticking around for four more months to help with the transition. In his LinkedIn post, which he only publicly posts about once a year, he said:
Being a part of this company is a special experience and I’m extremely proud of the work we’ve done together since I joined over 13 years ago.
Reason for Leaving is Unknown
There are no clues about what is next for Kirkhorn or why he is leaving. So, that would lead many to believe there must've been an issue at the top, Elon Musk. While that is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, both men seemed to be playing nice on social media. Kirkhorn stated on Linkedin, "I want to thank the talented, passionate, and hard-working employees at Tesla, who have accomplished things many thought not possible. I also want to thank Elon for his leadership and optimism, which has inspired so many people."
Musk posted on X.com, "I would like to thank Zach Kirkhorn for his many contributions to Tesla over the course of 13 often difficult years. Much appreciated, and best wishes for the next stage of his career."
Kirkhorn replaced Deepak Ahuja who left Tesla in 2019. Ahuja had been in the CFO role since 2010 the same year Kirhorn joined Tesla. Kirkhorn's rise through the ranks was both meteoric and pivotal. Serving in various capacities, including Senior Manager, Director, and Senior Director, he assumed the role of CFO in March 2019.
The Succession Plan
Succession at Tesla has been a concern for years, and it should be. We saw what happened when Musk bought Twitter and split his attention - the stock sank. We can only imagine what was happening behind the scenes. Still, when Musk committed to putting his attention back to Tesla, he implemented a hiring freeze and said all major personal decisions had to go through him.
Kirkhorn would've been on everyone's bingo card as a shortlist candidate to be the next CEO at Tesla, as his impact on the company's trajectory is indisputable. During his tenure, Kirkhorn played an essential role in transforming Tesla from a company fraught with losses to a consistently profitable enterprise. His expertise has been instrumental in Tesla's first quarterly profit, achieving a market valuation of over $1 trillion and strategizing the launch of products like Model 3 and the anticipated Cybertruck.
Kirkhorn's dedication to the company was undoubtedly monumental and likely far bigger than we will ever know, but he is replaceable. Just as we saw with the departure of Andrej Karpathy, the leader of the Full Self-Driving department, the company will continue. It's been a highly sought-after company for many bright minds to work at, and that kind of talent pool will help when the big players leave. But Tesla still has to come up with an answer for the succession plan for Elon Musk.
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Tesla news, upcoming features and software updates.
Tesla has released software update 2025.2.6, and while minor updates typically focus on bug fixes, this one introduces a major new feature. With this update, Tesla has activated the in-cabin radar, a sensor that has been included in some vehicles for more than three years but remained unused until now.
Why Not Vision?
Unlike vision-based systems, radar can precisely measure object dimensions and even detect movement behind obstacles by bouncing radio waves off surrounding surfaces. This allows for more accurate and reliable measurements of objects that vision may not even be able to see, such as behind the front seats.
What Tesla Announced
Tesla recently highlighted the 4D radar in the new Model Y, explaining how it will improve passenger safety. Tesla executives stated that the radar would be used to properly classify passengers and improve the way airbags deploy.
Tesla went on to say that in a future update, Tesla will use the in-cabin radar to detect any potential passengers left in the vehicles. Since radar can even pick up on heartbeat and breathing patterns, it can provide a much more accurate method of detecting children left in a vehicle. Tesla talked about how the vehicle will send owners a notification via the Tesla app and enable the HVAC system if it detects a passenger in the vehicle. It’ll even call emergency services if needed.
New Feature in Update 2025.2.6
Tesla has officially named this feature in update 2025.2.6, “First-Row Cabin Sensing Update,” which appears to align with the first portion of what Tesla discussed in the new Model Y video.
In the release notes, Tesla describes the update as:
“The first-row cabin sensing system has been updated to use cabin radar, which is now standard in all new 2025 Model Ys. Your Model Y was built pre-equipped with the necessary hardware, allowing Tesla to also bring this technology to your vehicle.”
For now, it appears that Tesla is using the radar to detect and classify passengers in the front seats. This could eventually replace traditional seat sensors, reducing the number of hardware components and lowering production costs.
Tesla plans to expand the feature later this year, bringing rear-seat passenger detection in Q3 2025. While Tesla talked about the feature for the new Model Y, we expect it to be available for all vehicles with the in-cabin radar.
Supported Models
Although Tesla is vague in their release notes, this feature is being added to all Model Ys that include a cabin radar. Tesla started including the cabin radar in 2022, but its availability may vary by region and model. The Model 3 didn’t receive the cabin radar until it was redesigned in 2024, while all Cybertrucks already include it.
The owner’s manual for the redesigned Model S and Model X doesn’t specifically mention the interior radar, although Greentheonly believes the vehicles also include one, so we’ll have to wait to determine whether those vehicles also receive this new feature.
At this time, the feature appears to be only going out to Model Y vehicles, but we expect it to become available on other supported models soon.
We love to see these kinds of updates. Tesla is increasing the safety of existing and new vehicles through a software update while also making them more affordable to own.
Tesla has updated the Tesla app to version 4.42.0, and this time, it’s more than just bug fixes. The app includes a new service interface, introduces support for the new Model Y, and, for the first time, includes some code for the Robotaxi coming later this year.
This update was released for iOS and should be available on Android within a few days.
Refreshed Model Y 3D Model
First up in the update is the introduction of the 3D model for the refreshed Model Y. Interestingly, while we all know it as Juniper, the file code name inside the update lists the vehicle as “Bayberry.” The Bayberry name was introduced in Tesla app update 4.41.5. Tesla’s internal code names sometimes change as the vehicle evolves - and we’ll continue to refer to it as the refreshed or new Model Y for ease of understanding.
A rear-angle shot of the Refreshed Model Y from the Tesla App
@olympusdev_ on X
As usual with Tesla’s 3D models in the app, there’s a lot of detail, although it’s not easy to see since you can pinch and zoom the model in the app. The 3D models used in the app are actually the same models that Tesla uses in the vehicle, although sometimes they include different lighting effects, but they’re all highly detailed.
Robotaxi API
Tesla has added a new endpoint in their app for Robotaxi - and it’s the very first Robotaxi or Cybercab-related item we’ve seen in the app. With the Robotaxi fleet launching in June, according to Tesla, it looks like they’re now adding support to the Tesla app.
What the Robotaxi interface is supposed to look like in the future.
Not a Tesla App
The new app API is called “rides_feedback_upload,” which seems pretty explanatory. Tesla will need to gather a lot of information on ride quality and all the little things in between. What better way than to get feedback directly from users?
While Tesla previously released prototype images of what the Robotaxi app will look like, the introduction of this API into the Tesla app leads us to believe that Tesla will utilize the current app for Robotaxi use.
Updated Service Interface
The Updated Service Panel in the Tesla App
Not a Tesla App
Tesla has released an updated UI for the Tesla Service panel, and we have a ton of details on these changes. This new pane displays appointment details more prominently. If you have a service appointment scheduled, you’ll now see a lot more details on the main service screen. The app will now display:
Your current service status
Appointment date and time, which you can now tap on to add the event to your calendar
Address and hours of the service center. You can now also tap on the address to open up the location in your maps app
There’s also a new appointment details screen (the right portion of the image). This screen displays additional details that were previously unavailable, such as your transport type. The app will display whether you’ll get a loaner vehicle, demo vehicle, or something else.
There are a ton of user experience (UX) improvements in this update regarding service, including clearer language, improved UI fixes to images, and more.
Tesla has been making a lot of positive updates to the Service-related sections of the app lately, and we’re happy to see these coming rapid-fire. Tesla Service is now easier to use and understand. In the previous app update, Tesla also added the ability to pull down to update the service screens.
![The Design & Engineering Behind the New Model Y [Video]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/model-y-2025/2025-model-y-speaker.webp/e933556c6b2b4ce77ab652524f3a8ac0/2025-model-y-speaker.jpg)
![Video Reveals the Cybertruck's Unique User Interface [Video]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/images/news/2023/cybertruck-ui-1_300w.jpg)
_300w.png)
