Key Takeaways:
- Tesla’s Q3 earnings report suggests the company may have sold some of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings.
- The firm reported digital asset holdings worth $184 million.
- The dollar figure has suspiciously remained unchanged since December 2022.
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has released its latest quarterly earnings report, suggesting that the company may have sold more Bitcoin (BTC) during Q3/2023.
Bitcoin Price Changes Not Reflected in Tesla Q3/2023 Earnings Report
The electric vehicle manufacturer has consistently shown $184 million of Bitcoin on its balance sheet since December 2022. While most media outlets have picked it as a sign of Tesla not selling its BTC tokens, the assumption lacks meat when focusing on Bitcoin’s price rally.
The average price of Bitcoin in December 2022, when it was first reported to have $184 million worth of the asset on its balance sheet, was around $17,000. By the end of this last quarter, BTC had gained nearly 60%, closing September near the $27,000 mark.
This large price difference should have been reflected on the company’s balance sheet.
However, the report for the quarter-end did not mention any Bitcoin-related activities. Because such conversions typically impact the company’s profitability and cash balance, it would be customary to report such transactions. This suggests that no conversion to fiat currency occurred.
If no transactions happened, how did the company maintain its value at $184 million? Shouldn’t it have increased since it reports maintaining crypto reserves in dollar terms?
History of Tesla’s Bitcoin (BTC) Holdings
In February 2021, Tesla made significant waves by investing $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. The sudden interest from the Elon Musk-led giant caused a substantial surge in the cryptocurrency’s value.
Experts estimated the average BTC price of the purchase to be around $32,000 a coin.
Subsequently, Tesla divested some of its holdings to assess Bitcoin’s liquidity. By the close of 2021, the company disclosed assets of approximately $1.99 billion in BTC.
However, Tesla’s stance on Bitcoin appeared to shift, with Elon Musk expressing concerns about the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining.
Consequently, in July 2022, Tesla opted to sell 75% of its Bitcoin holdings at a 48% loss. Musk went for the move to bolster the company’s cash reserves by an additional $936 million.
By the end of Q3 2022, the company retained approximately $218 million of digital currency.
However, since the Q4 of last year, Tesla’s BTC stash value has suspiciously remained unchanged at $184 million.
How Many Bitcoins (BTC) Does Tesla Hold?
As of Sep. 30, 2022, Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings amounted to approximately 9,720, according to BitcoinTreasury.Net. With the largest crypto now fetching around $28,367 per token, the current value of the company’s stash should be $275.60 million.
Moreover, data from Buy Bitcoin Worldwide indicates that Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings continue to rank among the top three largest holdings of any public company. The only entities surpassing Tesla in this regard are MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA).
According to the site, the company holds 10,725 in BTC. According to current market value, this stash is worth about $305 million.
Verifying the actual number of BTC Tesla holds is hard since it reports its value in dollar terms. But even considering that it holds less than the above two estimates, Tesla still has explaining to do.
How did the company maintain the value of its BTC holding for so many quarters in a row despite the fluctuating value of Bitcoin? Did they sell as the price went up? If they did, why is it not in its Q3 earnings report?
The post Exclusive: Tesla May Have Sold Bitcoin (BTC) in Q3/2023 appeared first on CoinChapter.
