Advertisement
Holding Steady: Tesla Didn’t Buy Or Sell Any Bitcoin in Q3
- Tesla’s Q3 earning report was disappointing for investors, but the company held firm on its BTC holdings.
- Tesla owns about 10,725 BTC as of Q3 2023.
- MicroStrategy Inc are still the largest Bitcoin holders of any public company.
Tesla did not buy or sell any BTC in the most recent financial quarter, according to the car manufacturer’s earnings report released yesterday. The report made no explicit mention of Bitcoin, which generally implies that the company has not altered its investment position on the digital currency. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter where Elon Musk’s business has maintained its holdings of 10,725 BTC. This roughly translates to US $307 million ($485 million).
Tesla began its love affair with Bitcoin in 2021
2021 was the most explosive bull run the cryptocurrency industry has ever seen, with the price of Bitcoin nearly reaching $100k AUD. Amid the hype, several big businesses began accumulating digital currencies – with Tesla being perhaps the most public about its investment position.
In February 2021, Musk’s electric vehicle firm purchased US $1.5 billion ($2.3 billion) worth of BTC, equivalent to about 43,000 tokens. At the time BTC was trading at around US $45-55k ($70-80k). In addition, customers could purchase Teslas using the coin.
However, due to environmental concerns and the crypto market cooling off, Tesla stopped accepting BTC payments and liquidated much of its position. They sold 4,320 BTC in Q1 2021 and eventually dumped 75% of their overall holdings by mid-2022. The investment ended up being a huge failure for Tesla, with the company disclosing they lost over US $200m ($316m)– although some analysts believe Musk’s business may have lost closer to half a billion US Dollars.
MicroStrategy Still Bitcoin’s Biggest Holders
Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy Inc remains by far the largest Bitcoin holder out of any public company. The tech and analytics company invested close to US $4 billion ($6.33 billion) in BTC throughout 2021. However, unlike Tesla which reacted to the changing market conditions and largely sold out of its position, MicroStrategy has held firm. Although the company’s investment has netted it a billion-dollar loss, Saylor and co strongly believe their position will hold off in the long term.
Other public companies with large BTC holdings include Marathon Digital, Coinbase and Square Inc.
Author
Ben Knight
Ben Knight is a writer and editor from Melbourne with a passion for all things music and finance. He enjoys turning complex topics – especially the technical details of cryptocurrency – into digestible bites that anybody can understand. He acquired his Master’s in Writing, Editing and Publishing from RMIT in 2019 and has run his own creative writing business ever since.
