Automobile major Tesla did not buy or sell any Bitcoin in Q2 of 2023 for the fourth consecutive quarter, according to a financial report on July 19. The Elon Musk-led firm remained steadfast in its position, displaying diamond hands. As of June 30, Tesla’s holdings of $184 million in digital assets remain unchanged.
However, the figures are down from $218 million in the previous two quarters of 2022. It is worthwhile to note that the electric vehicle manufacturer invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in 2021 before dumping 75% of its BTC holdings during the second quarter of 2022 after touting ‘long-term potential”.
The sale generated $64 million in profit for Tesla and added $936 million in cash for its books in the second quarter. Musk’s rendevous with BTC began in March 2021, when the business magnate announced that Tesla would begin taking Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles in March 2021, and the price of the cryptocurrency shot up.
But weeks later, Musk and the electric car maker backtracked on that decision, citing the environmental impact of mining. The price of the asset then tanked. Bitcoin hovered close to $19,500 on September 30, 2022, before dropping almost 15% to $16,600 by December 31.
Tesla Suffered Loss On Its Bitcoin Holdings In Q1 2023
One of the biggest institutional BTC investors, Tesla sold its BTC at the time to maximize its cash position and does not reflect its stance on the crypto asset, according to CEO Elon Musk, because it was unclear “when the COVID lockdowns in China would alleviate.”
The reason we sold a bunch of our BTC holdings was that we were uncertain as to when the Covid lockdowns in China would alleviate so it was important for us to maximize our cash position. This should be not taken as some verdict on Bitcoin.
In its previous Q1 report of 2023, Tesla suffered an impairment loss on its Bitcoin assets of $204 million in 2022. A profit from trading countered the loss by $64 million, leaving the automaker with a net loss of $140 million, TronWeekly reported.