Posted by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) fans and investors are keenly awaiting the EV maker’s annual shareholder meeting this afternoon, which will kick off at 5:30 p.m. ET. Shares have been on a rip before the event, which was recently rebranded as “Cyber Roundup,” and will take place at the company’s new Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. In fact, the stock (known for its volatility) has rebounded nearly 50% from $620 in late May – several weeks after the meeting was announced – to $922/share as of Wednesday’s close. TSLA +1.5% premarket.
On the menu: At the top of the list is authorization for the company to have more shares outstanding. It’s seeking approval for its second stock split (3-for-1) in two years, following a 5-for-1 transaction in August 2020 (shares are up 130% since that date). “We believe the stock split would help reset the market price of our common stock so that our employees will have more flexibility in managing their equity,” according to Tesla. “The stock split will also make our common stock more accessible to our retail shareholders.”
There are a number of other stockholder proposals up for vote, including shareholder proxy access, disclosure and diversity efforts, ESG, and a collective-bargaining policy. This year’s Cyber Roundup will also conclude the end of a short directorship of Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle (ORCL) and friend of Elon Musk. After his departure, Tesla’s board will drop to seven members, and two controversial directors – Ira Ehrenpreis and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson – will be up for re-election (concerns center around the amount of borrowing taking place against Tesla stock).
Putting on the cowboy hat: Vying least for attention is Technoking Elon Musk, who will take to the stage to whip up investor enthusiasm. He’s hoped to provide more details on production holdups and supply chain costs after repeatedly saying that Tesla can sell all the vehicles that come off its assembly line. The Q&A session might also reveal how Tesla will meet its battery needs, more defined timelines for the Semi and Cybertruck, and if and how the company is planning for a recession.
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