LV 370z

The tabs you're referring to are just a retaining tab to keep the jack stand shaft permanently in the stand after you initially assemble the 2 pieces together. That tab should only be bent inward enough to prevent the sliding porting of the jack stand from coming back out and falling out of the base. It also prevents you from accidentally over-extending the jack stand to an unsafe point where it would break sideways if you lowered your car onto it with the shaft almost completely out of the stand with no sidewall of the stand touching the shaft for lateral strength.