Toronto, Ontario — It’s all-electric in this weekly Tuesday Ticker as Tesla proposes a stock split; Rivian updates investors in its first annual shareholders’ meeting and two battery players join forces with B.C.-based Nano One Materials.
3-for-1, but not like the sales
Tesla has filed its proxy statement for the upcoming annual meeting of stockholders, revealing its shareholders will vote for a 3-for-1 stock split on Aug. 4, 2022.
The company is proposing a tripling in the number of authorized shares of Tesla’s common stock from two billion to six billion. One of the primary reasons is so that new employees can reap the same benefits as those employees who were around at the time of the last stock split in August 2020, said Tesla.
Tesla will ask shareholders to vote at this year’s annual meeting to authorize additional shares in order to enable a stock split.
— Tesla (@Tesla) March 28, 2022
“The primary purpose of the Authorized Shares Amendment is to facilitate a 3-for-1 split of our common stock in the form of a stock dividend (the “Stock Split”). As of June 6, 2022, we have 1,036,390,569 shares of common stock outstanding, and the current number of authorized shares of our common stock is 2, 000,000, which is insufficient to effectuate the Stock Split. Our Board intends to approve the Stock Split, subject to and contingent upon stockholder approval of the Authorized Shares Amendment.
“Unlike other manufacturers, we offer every employee the option of receiving equity. Since our stock split from August 2020 to June 6, 2022, our stock price has risen 43.5%. 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.”
The proxy filing also revealed an upcoming change to the Board of Directors in which the total number of seats will be reduced from eight to seven with current member Larry Ellison deciding to not stand for re-election.
Tesla’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders will take place on August 4, 2022.
A peek inside Rivian’s wallet
Rivian held its first-ever annual meeting as a publicly-traded company last week. The electric OEM released a letter to shareholders reviewing the past year and the outlook ahead.
Rivian ended Q1 2022 with more than US$17 billion in cash on its balance sheet—and just how long that cash will last was the question on shareholders’ minds.
Rivian plans to spend more than $7 billion in 2022 on capital and operating expenses, though told investors it has “focused its roadmap” to ensure that the funds last through 2025 and through the launch of its second vehicle platform, the R2.
Wall Street analysts predict this to be on par, estimating between US$13 billion and US$14 billion in cash burn, cumulatively, between 2022 and 2024.
Click here to view Rivian’s Q1 2022 Shareholder Letter.
New friends at Nano One
Burnaby, B.C.-based battery technology company Nano One has caught the attention of other battery material players since announcing its takeover of the Quebec-based Johnson Matthey Battery materials, inking partnerships with BASF and U.K.-based mining company Rio Tinto.
On May 31, six days after Nano One’s initial announcement, the battery tech company announced a joint venture with BASF—which has its own plans to produce cathode active materials (CAM) in Becancour, Quebec. The agreement will see the two companies “co-develop a process with reduced by-products for commercial production of next-generation cathode active materials,” according to the Nano One press release.
Meanwhile, U.K-based mining group Rio Tinto is investing US$10 million into Nano One, acquiring a roughly five percent stake in the company as part of the agreement.
Rio Tinto will also partner with Nano One in the use of iron powders from the Rio Tinto Sorel-Tracy, Que. plant in the production of CAM.
Nano One Materials is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). Shares rose 18.4 percent in the immediate hours following Rio Tinto’s announcement. As of 11 a.m. ET Monday, shares of the company are up 66.8 percent month-over-month.
