Will Tesla Sell Its Bitcoin as the Cryptocurrency Reaches New All-Time Highs?

Electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) owns a lot of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) — a position it first took in January 2021.

Here’s a look at Tesla’s Bitcoin history and how much its current holdings are worth.

What Happened: Tesla disclosed it purchased $1.5 billion in February 2021. The announcement came shortly after CEO Elon Musk spoke with MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) Executive Chairman Michael Saylor had a conversation on X (formerly Twitter) about the EV giant adding Bitcoin.

Tesla later announced it sold $272 million in Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2021. Tesla also sold 75% of its remaining Bitcoin holdings in July 2022, noting a cash contribution of $936 million for the company.

The Austin, Texas-based company said its first sale was done to test the liquidity of the leading cryptocurrency, as some took to social media to accuse Musk and the company of selling early and not having “diamond hands.”

Tesla previously accepted Bitcoin as a payment option for vehicles before ending the practice due to concerns about the energy consumption used in Bitcoin mining.

While the total amounts of Bitcoin previously purchased and currently held by Tesla are not known to the exact amount, many have estimated based on the prices of Bitcoin at specific points of time.

Most estimates point to Tesla currently holding 9,720 Bitcoin.

The company ended the fourth quarter with $184 million in digital assets on its balance sheet, which could consist of Bitcoin and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE). The company accepts Dogecoin as a payment option for merchandise.

Related Link: EXCLUSIVE: Why Does Cathie Wood Think Bitcoin Is Going To $1 Million — What Does She Know That We Don’t?

Tesla’s Bitcoin Value: Based on the estimated 9,720 Bitcoin held, Tesla’s Bitcoin value currently stands at $662.1 million. This is based on a price of $68,121.56 for Bitcoin at the time of writing.

On Tuesday, Bitcoin made new all-time highs, passing the previous high of $68,789.63.

While companies like MicroStrategy have a plan in place to acquire and hold Bitcoin for the future, Tesla bought the Bitcoin previously as more of an experiment and has sold the majority of its position.

With Bitcoin hitting new all-time highs, it might make sense for Tesla to sell and their next quarterly earnings report could be the next time investors will see if they did make a sale.

If Tesla sells its Bitcoin now for $662.1 million, it would make a total value of $1.87 billion. This would yield a profit from the original $1.5 billion purchase made in 2021 by the company.

Tesla’s Bitcoin stake was once worth $2 billion before it began selling the majority of its holdings.

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