Tech giant Tesla is sitting pretty on a massive Bitcoin fortune worth $1.07 billion, marking its position as the sixth-largest holder of the cryptocurrency among public companies. The electric car maker’s recent SEC filing revealed ownership of 11,509 BTC, a stash that’s remained unchanged for several quarters. Talk about diamond hands.
The company’s crypto bet is finally paying off. Thanks to new accounting rules, Tesla reported a whopping $589 million unrealized gain on its Bitcoin holdings. Not bad for a company that took a $204 million write-down in 2022. The Bitcoin profits contributed considerably to Tesla’s $2.3 billion Q4 net income in 2024. Despite the impressive gains, the company posted an EPS of $0.73, missing analyst expectations. The company can now effectively mark to market its digital assets under the new FASB guidelines. Who’s laughing now?
Tesla’s Bitcoin gamble turns golden, with a $589 million gain transforming yesterday’s losses into today’s crypto triumph.
Tesla’s journey with Bitcoin has been quite the rollercoaster. Back in 2021, they dove headfirst into crypto, buying 39,474 BTC at around $38,000 per coin. Then came the plot twist: they sold 75% of their holdings in 2022, citing liquidity needs. The halving events historically correlate with significant price increases, which could further boost Tesla’s remaining holdings.
Remember that brief moment when you could buy a Tesla with Bitcoin? Yeah, that didn’t last long – environmental concerns put the brakes on that experiment.
Recent developments have made Tesla’s Bitcoin strategy look increasingly shrewd. New FASB guidelines now allow companies to report digital assets at fair value, and the SEC’s rescission of SAB No. 121 has changed how crypto appears on balance sheets.
The company recently shuffled its Bitcoin across seven new wallets – just some housekeeping, folks, nothing to see here.
Elon Musk’s corporate treasury diversification play seems to be working out. The Bitcoin holdings reclaimed the $1 billion mark in November 2024, and the company can now potentially borrow against these assets.
While some corporate leaders might be sweating their crypto investments, Tesla’s sitting cool with their billion-dollar Bitcoin stash. And with Musk hinting at possibly increasing their holdings based on market conditions, this crypto story might just be getting started.