Tesla's stock split plan aims to help Elon Musk attract and retain 'excellent talent', filing shows

• Tesla has proposed a 3-for-1 stock split to triple the number of shares to 6 billion.
• In an SEC filing, the company said this would help attract and retain "excellent talent."

Tesla's plan for a 3-for-1 stock split aims to help the electric car maker attract and retain more top talent, filings show, even as Elon Musk mulls making layoffs.

The proposal, made in Tesla's filing with the Security and Exchange Commission, would triple the number of shares in the company from 2 billion to 6 billion.

While the move would also lower the price of individual shares and allow more retail investors to buy its stock, Tesla said the move also had the interests of employees in mind.

"Our success depends on attracting and retaining excellent talent, not only through providing a respectful, safe, inclusive and equitable workplace, but also through offering outstanding benefits and highly competitive compensation packages," the filing stated.

Tesla gives its employees options to buy equity in the company. It said since its 5-for-1 stock split in August 2020, the company's share price had risen by grown 43%.

Tesla said: "While this value appreciation has led to our employees benefiting enormously through the years, we want to make sure all employees, no matter when they join, have access to the same advantages."

"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, all of which, in our view, may help maximize stockholder value."

Shares in Tesla closed on Friday at $696, meaning the split would reduce them to $232 apiece.

Investors will be asked to approve the stock split at Tesla's annual meeting on August 4.

The move comes as Musk said he was considering laying off 10% of Tesla's employees due to his "super bad feeling" about the economy, before quickly backtracking by tweeting that overall headcount would increase.

This week, it was reported that Tesla had canceled hiring events in China amid uncertainty about the company's hiring practices.

The electric car maker is fending off competition for its top talent from the likes of Amazon, which is trying to recruit workers unhappy with Musk's demand they return to the office. That demand has been described to Insider as "antiquated".

Tesla shares have taken a battering this year and have sunk by 42%, partly because investors have been spooked by Musk's $44 billion bid for Twitter, as well as sexual misconduct allegations against him revealed by Insider.