Tesla BTC Holdings Not Going Anywhere As Musk Cools on Bitcoin
The electric car manufacturer Tesla has maintained its Bitcoin holdings in Q3 2023.
- Elon Musk has previously made multiple commitments to not sell Bitcoin, and then changed his mind.
- Tesla’s latest earnings report appears to show it kept hold of its share of BTC.
- In recent years, Musk has turned his attention to the memecoin DOGE.
Bitcoin investors often look to companies with large crypto holdings like Tesla for clues on market sentiment. So Tesla’s latest earnings report will do nothing to excite holders of the world’s original cryptocurrency.
Considering Elon Musk’s famed ability to move markets with a single tweet (or “post”), perhaps Tesla’s Q3 earnings report showing stable Bitcoin holdings could be a welcome note of calm, considering the alternatives.
Tesla Appears To Cool on Bitcoin
It turns out Tesla’s love affair with Bitcoin may have cooled off significantly. The electric vehicle maker’s latest Q3 earnings report appears to show that its Bitcoin stash has remained unchanged for the fifth quarter in a row. The report did not explicitly mention Bitcoin, indicating that its holdings have remained the same.
Tesla is still holding steady at around 9,720 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $279 million as of October 19, 2023.
The car manufacturer made a big splash back in early 2021 by investing $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and saying it would accept the cryptocurrency for car payments. Those days are clearly over, however. After liquidating 75% of its crypto holdings last year at a hefty loss, and selling 4,320 Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2021, Tesla has pressed pause on any further Bitcoin buying or selling.
Its current Bitcoin trove makes Tesla the third largest public company holder of crypto, trailing only MicroStrategy and Marathon Digital Holdings according to bitcointreasuries.net . But don’t expect that position to change anytime soon. While Tesla clocked lower earnings in Q3, down 44% year-over-year, crypto trading clearly isn’t the priority.
CEO Elon Musk may have boosted Bitcoin prices back in the day by championing crypto. But Tesla’s breakup with Bitcoin seems pretty definitive now. The company dumped over 30,000 coins in mid-2022 and hasn’t touched its remaining crypto stash in months.
Musk Was Never Much of a Fan
Despite assumptions, the South-African born billionaire has never been a huge cheerleader of the world’s original cryptocurrency. Back in May 2021, Musk halted plans to accept Bitcoin for payments over rising concerns about its environmental impact.
In a tweet, the Tesla owner said the firm would be looking at other crypto alternatives, and that cryptocurrency itself was “a good idea on many levels.” Currently, the only cryptocurrency you can buy a Tesla with is DOGE, Musk’s personal favorite cryptocurrency.
Not that you’d want to. According to Tesla’s official support page , orders placed with DOGE cannot be canceled, returned, or even refunded in the original form of payment if you accidentally overpay.
Later that year in December, Musk explained his affinity for the memecoin, saying Bitcoin “just gives power to new rich people,” and “That’s why I’m pro doge.”
In July 2021, the billionaire explained he had no plans to sell any of his Bitcoin in the near future, and that he doesn’t believe in dumping when the price is high. “I would like to see Bitcoin succeed,” he said. As we know, Musk eventually changed his mind. SpaceX sold all of their Bitcoin holdings in August 2023, whilst Tesla sold Bitcoin in both 2021 and 2022.
