U.S. electric carmaker Tesla reveals 3:1 stock split

U.S. electric carmaker Tesla has announced a stock split to make its share certificates more affordable for small investors.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk's company announced on Friday after the U.S. stock market closed that its board of directors would approve a 3:1 split if shareholders approve of the move at their annual meeting in August.

Tesla had already announced in March that it was planning a split. The ratio has not been announced.

Stock splits do not actually change the market value of a company, but they do lower the price per share. This can make the shares more attractive, especially for small investors, even though many brokers already offer to buy shares on a pro-rata basis.

The measure is very popular with companies. This year, other large U.S. corporations such as Google parent Alphabet and Amazon have announced stock splits.

Tesla's shares have recently been under heavy pressure in a general downward spiral of the markets. Since the highs of last November, the share price has fallen by more than 40%.

On Friday, the stock closed at $696.69. The announcement of the stock split initially led to slight gains in after-hours trading.

Tesla also announced in the release that Oracle founder Larry Ellison would be stepping down from his position on the board of directors.