Advertisement
Tesla Reports Strong Q3 Profits—But Did They Offload Bitcoin?
- Electric car manufacturer Tesla has consistently been one of the crypto industry’s biggest public supporters, with customers able to purchase cars using DOGE.
- The company is also one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin, typically ranking in the top five by portfolio size.
- However, after analysts picked up on transactions tied to Tesla’s wallets, speculation mounted that the company might be adjusting its portfolios.
- Following the release of Tesla’s Q3 financial report, it was revealed the business held onto all of their BTC.
Rightly or wrongly, Tesla – and importantly, Elon Musk – has long been associated with the crypto market. The electric car manufacturers were one of the first global merchants to accept Bitcoin as payment (although they later repealed this option).
Similarly, Elon Musk has become nearly synonymous with the popular memecoin DOGE. In fact, there is still one crypto Tesla accepts: Dogecoin.
Despite no longer allowing Bitcoin payments, Musk’s EV business has maintained a significant portfolio of BTC and is ranked in the top five public companies by Bitcoin holdings. (I’ll give you one guess to figure out who’s number one.)
However, following a flurry of activity from wallets linked with Tesla, speculation mounted that the car manufacturers would alter their BTC position, potentially having major ramifications on the Bitcoin market.
And with the release of Tesla’s Q3 financial report, the industry got the answer they were seeking…
Related: Memecoin Trading Volume Hits $16 Billion, Sparks Liquidity Crisis in NFT Market
Tesla Held Onto Their Bitcoin…Or Did They?
Okay, is the suspense killing you?
The answer is NO. Tesla did not sell any of its Bitcoin holdings over the last quarter, despite the sudden wallet movements.
According to data analysts Arkham Intelligence, Tesla splitting its Bitcoin assets across seven other wallets was simply a “rotation” into newer, or more secure storage solutions.
This means that Tesla still holds 11,509 BTC, worth approximately US $765m (AU $1.15b) – a good omen for the Bitcoin community.
Tesla Earnings Slightly Underperforms, But Demonstrates Strong Annual Growth
Overall, Tesla enjoyed a terrific Q3, capping off a strong second half of the year for the EV manufacturers. After a fairly sub-standard beginning to 2024, Tesla’s stock price (TSLA) has increased by nearly 50%, spurred by strong sales figures and improving market conditions.
According to Tesla’s Q3 report, the company recorded a gross margin of 19.8% – an improvement of nearly 2% from the previous quarter.
Tesla also boasted quarterly revenue of US $25.1b (AU $37.8b), which fell just short of expectations but still represented a year-on-year increase of 8%.
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.
