Tesla to make shares more accessible with five-for one stock split

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has said it is to split its shares to make them more accessible to employees and investors after their surge in value over the past six months. The five-for-one split will apply to shares held on August 21 (record date) with the new ones to be distributed on August 28 and trading to begin after the stock split on August 31. Priced currently at US$1,374 the stock has more than trebled this year to date and gives the electric auto-maker a market capitalisation of close to US$220bn. Following the stock split, the price would be around US$275 but the market capitalisation will not be affected Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, likened to a real-world Tony Stark or Lex Luther, is simultaneously revolutionising multiple industries - motor vehicles, renewable energy, battery power – whilst reinvigorating America’s space business, boring giant holes beneath Los Angeles and working on technologies to directly integrate humans with computers.