Redwood Materials Appoints Former Tesla Finance Chief Deepak Ahuja as Incoming CFO Amid Restructuring

Redwood Materials has appointed former Tesla finance chief Deepak Ahuja as its new chief financial officer, bringing a seasoned executive back into the fold of the battery-recycling and energy-storage firm. The appointment reunites Ahuja with founder and CEO JB Straubel and CTO Colin Campbell, both of whom are former Tesla executives. Ahuja, who most recently served as chief finance and business officer at drone company Zipline, joins an executive team that includes several other former Tesla employees.

The move comes as the company navigates a period of internal restructuring that saw the departure of the chief operating officer and approximately 135 employees, representing roughly 10 per cent of the workforce. While the current market environment sees significant activity regarding initial public offerings, particularly among peers in the artificial intelligence sector, Ahuja has indicated that it is currently too early to discuss taking the company public. He noted that an IPO remains a potential outcome but will only be considered when the time is right.

Redwood Materials has successfully raised over $2 billion in capital from blue-chip investors, including venture arms from Google and Nvidia, which now feature on the company's cap table. In January, the firm closed a $425 million Series E funding round that valued the company at more than $6 billion. Ahuja highlighted the strength of this investor base, describing them as having deep pockets and expressing confidence that new investors will be equally excited by the company's trajectory.

Despite the prevailing hype surrounding AI data centre construction and the prospect of IPOs for companies like SpaceX and OpenAI, Ahuja emphasised a cautious approach to messaging and growth. He and Straubel, who have maintained a close relationship since leaving Tesla in 2019, aim to avoid the cycles of exuberance and disillusionment seen in recent tech markets. The leadership team is mindful of how they manage the company, noting that their hardware-focused business model offers a certain degree of sanity compared to software-heavy AI ventures.

Strategically, the company is shifting resources toward its rapidly growing energy storage business, which is initially targeted at helping AI data centres manage their power loads. Ahuja expressed excitement about the innovative technology solutions that address critical energy needs for the country and society. He described the fit as natural, citing the importance of the recycling and energy storage sectors in meeting these demands.

While the appointment marks the first to the CFO role in roughly 18 months following the previous executive's departure, the focus remains on operational stability and long-term value rather than immediate market speculation. Ahuja, who is also a small investor in Redwood Materials, views the company's critical role in climate and energy solutions as the primary driver for his decision to join the executive team.