Tesla seeks 2nd stock split in less than 2 years

 Shares of Tesla rose sharply Monday after the electric car maker announced its second stock split in less than two years.

The company said in a regulatory filing, and also in a tweet, that it plans to make a request at its upcoming annual shareholders' meeting to increase its number of authorized shares so that it can split the stock in the form of a dividend.

Shares jumped more than 6% before the market opened.

Tesla Inc. said that its board has approved the proposal, but that the dividend is contingent on final board approval.

Tesla had a 5-for-1 stock split in September 2020, which went into effect one day after the company announced that it planned to sell up to $5 billion worth of its stock. Just three months later Tesla said that it was planning another stock sale, looking to raise up to $5 billion in that offering.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla said it would include more information, including the date and place of its annual shareholder meeting, in an upcoming proxy statement.