Tesla divided each share into five shares in its 2020 stock split.
Tesla’s five-for-one split took effect in August 2020. Shareholders received four additional shares for every share they already owned, while the market price per share was adjusted to roughly one-fifth of its previous level. The split did not, by itself, change the company’s total market capitalization.
Tesla was already one of the world’s most closely watched companies because of its rapid growth in electric vehicles, battery storage, and charging infrastructure. Its rising share price had made individual shares expensive for many retail investors, and the split was intended to make the quoted price more accessible.
A stock split is often confused with a gain in company value. Unless the split changes investor demand, it is mainly an accounting adjustment to the number and price of shares. Tesla later carried out another three-for-one split in 2022.