Tesla Announces 5-to-1 Stock Split, Shares Up 5% in After-Hours Trading

In a move many suspected might happen, Tesla has announced today a 5-to-1 stock split, as approved by its Board of Directors.

According to the company’s afternoon press release:

Tesla announced today that the Board of Directors has approved and declared a five-for-one split of Tesla’s common stock in the form of a stock dividend to make stock ownership more accessible to employees and investors.

According to Tesla, “each stockholder of record on August 21, 2020 will receive a dividend of four additional shares of common stock for each then-held share, to be distributed after close of trading on August 28, 2020. Trading will begin on a stock split-adjusted basis on August 31, 2020.”

What does the stock split mean? It theoretically will allow more smaller investors to buy shares of Tesla, which is expected to enter the S&P 500 soon.

In after-hours trading, the news drove up Tesla’s share price, currently up 5.64% as of writing.