Tesla to seek investor approval for 3-for-1 stock split By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

(Reuters) -Electric-vehicle maker Tesla (NASDAQ:) Inc on Friday proposed a stock split at a three-to-one ratio in the form of a stock dividend, according to a regulatory filing.

The company said Larry Ellison, Oracle Corp (NYSE:)’s co-founder and a self-proclaimed close friend of Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, will not stand for re-election to Tesla’s board when his current term ends.

Ellison is among the top investors who have promised funding towards Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of social media firm Twitter Inc (NYSE:).

Tesla’s stock split proposal will be put to vote on August 4 and if approved, it would be the latest after a five-for-one split in August 2020.

The company will also ask shareholders to vote to reduce its board of directors’ terms to two years from three. If approved, directors’ terms would be staggered over two years.

Following a pandemic-induced rally in the technology shares, Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Inc, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:), too, have in the recent past split their shares to make them more affordable.

While stock splits make shares of a company cheaper for its employees and investors, some brokerages already allow customers to buy fractions of individual shares, which makes the benefit of stock splits less exaggerated than in the past.

Meanwhile, Tesla shareholder proposals included items on employees’ rights to form unions and an annual report on the company’s efforts to prevent sexual harassment and racial discrimination.