Key Highlights
- Tesla sold off most of its bitcoin holdings.
- Elon Musk has been among the most high-profile champions of cryptocurrency.
- The shares of Tesla have almost fallen by 40% this year.
Elon Musk’s Tesla had now sold off most of his holdings of the cryptocurrency though it made waves when it revealed a massive investment in Bitcoin.
At the end of 2021, the electric car firm had offloaded 75% of its Bitcoin, which was worth $2bn. This year, it is backing away since the cryptocurrency value has plunged, falling by more than 50%.
Tesla mentioned that it bought traditional currency with $936m (£782m) from its Bitcoin sales. With his pronouncements on social media frequently driving trading activity, Tesla boss Elon Musk has been among cryptocurrency’s most high-profile champions. Tesla’s $1.5bn investment in Bitcoin prompted a surge in currency demand.
Now, one Bitcoin trades for less than $25,000.
- Tesla profits soar as customers pay more
- Tesla starts accepting the once-joke currency Dogecoin
- Tesla deliveries at record high despite challenges
Last year, Tesla stopped accepting Bitcoin as payment for its cars, citing concerns about the climate impact of energy-intensive Bitcoin mining. At that time, Elon Musk said on social media that Tesla would not be selling the Bitcoin it owned.
Another Promise Elon Musk Broken
Last year, Elon Musk mentioned on Twitter that Tesla would not be selling any Bitcoin. We know now that in this Tesla Bitcoin Sale, Tesla sold most of its Bitcoin after a year of that tweet.
Elon Musk’s pronouncements don’t always come to pass whether it’s promising driverless tech or buying social media companies. That doesn’t seem to have affected his business career until now. But this is another reminder that his words are not set in stone, which can move markets.
Generally it is yet more bad news for Bitcoin and crypto. Musk is an advocate of crypto and he assisted in hype up currencies such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin.
Tesla Bitcoin Sale revealed the sale of the holdings as a part of its regular quarterly update. It said Bitcoin was one of the factors that affected its profitability.
However, the company reported a higher-than-expected profit for the three months to the end of June as price increases of its best-selling cars helped offset challenges, including lockdowns in China.
Tesla said production at its factory in China rose monthly as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. Mr. Musk also said output increased at the newer factories of Tesla in Germany and the US. Tesla shares have fallen by almost 40% this year.
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