According to Tesla’s recently released third-quarter earnings report, the company didn’t complete any Bitcoin (BTC) sales in the previous three months. This marks the company’s fifth consecutive quarter without any bitcoin sales.
What Does The Q3 2023 Report Say?
The Q3 2023 Report states that as of September 30th, Tesla held about 9,720 BTC, presently worth about $275.6 million.
BTC was not mentioned in the Q3 report, indicating no digital currency conversion to fiat cash during the third quarter. If the company had taken any aggressive steps toward a selloff, it may have finally communicated its profitability and cash balance, and the company would have disclosed this.
According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Tesla’s initial excursion into Bitcoin began in early 2021 with a $1.5 billion investment. The Elon Musk-owned business specifically purchased 43,000 units of the top digital asset by market capitalization at an estimated average cost of roughly $34,000.
This move by Tesla was seen as a significant endorsement of Bitcoin’s potential as a store of value and led to a surge in the cryptocurrency’s price. However, it also raised concerns about the company’s exposure to the volatile nature of the crypto market.
Interestingly, this was also when the company started taking BTC as payment for its cars and other goods.
Consistency
Tesla (TSLA), a manufacturer of electric vehicles, didn’t acquire or sell any bitcoins in Q2 2023 for the fourth consecutive quarter.
After the second quarter, when Tesla stunned some investors by selling $936 million worth of bitcoin, or almost 75% of its entire holdings, to raise money, the value of its digital assets remained at $218 million.
Since the bitcoin price stayed about the same after the second and third quarters at just under $20,000, Tesla did not record any impairment charges to the value of its holdings.
Conclusion
The absence of Bitcoin sales aligns with Tesla’s decision to halt accepting Bitcoin as payment for its electric vehicles earlier this year due to environmental concerns. Despite this, the company focuses on increasing its holdings of digital assets and exploring more sustainable alternatives for cryptocurrency transactions.
