Tesla Inc. shareholders on Thursday approved a proposal that is expected to lead to a 3-for-1 stock split and sided with the company on most of the proposals put to a vote.
TeslaTSLA,
announced preliminary voting results at its new Austin gigafactory, its new headquarters, following a formal shareholder meeting that was followed by a speech and question-and-answer session with the director General Elon Musk.
The electric car maker said the stock split, its second in two years, would provide more flexibility to its employees and make the stock more accessible to retail investors. Tesla completed a 5-for-1 stock split in August 2020, and its shares have risen 31% since then. They closed Thursday at $925.90, up 0.4%.
See: Tesla files for a 3-for-1 stock split
With a goal of producing 20 million vehicles a year, Musk said an announcement of a new factory location could come later this year, and said Tesla could eventually have 10 to 12 factories around the world. It currently has four, in Fremont, Calif.; Austin, TX; Shanghai and Berlin.
Shareholders also approved the re-election of two board members despite pressure to the contrary from proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services.
Martin Viecha, head of investor relations for Tesla, said the company’s proposals to reduce director terms from three years to two years and remove the supermajority voting requirement for proposals had been approved by investors but had not reached the two-thirds threshold. of the total outstanding shares needed to make the votes official. In addition, a shareholder proposal for access to shareholder proxies was passed, he said. This would give shareholders the opportunity to appoint board members.
See: Influential proxy advisory firms urge no votes for Tesla board members, mostly shareholder proposals
Seven other shareholder proposals failed, according to preliminary results. They included calls for reports on efforts to address harassment and discrimination, and on mandatory arbitration. Shareholders had also urged Tesla to adopt a policy on freedom of association and collective bargaining.
The company expects to file a final shareholder vote tally within four business days, as required, Viecha said.