In the dynamic landscape of cryptocurrency holdings, the link between Tesla, the electric car giant led by Elon Musk, and Bitcoin remains a subject of interest. So how much do they really hold?
How Are Things Going?
The world’s richest man on recent estimations, Elon Musk owns Tesla and in turn, Tesla’s assets on a recent valuation are valued at approximately $387 million, with over 9,720 BTC in its possession.
The electronic car manufacturer Tesla (TSLA) investments held their value in quarter 4 of their accounts and remain unchanged at $387 million. The report detailed that TESLA holdings remained the same because there were no further transactions to add to the ledger.
Tesla Holdings are down overall from the peak in 2022. According to Bitcoin Treasuries, Tesla holds Bitcoin totaling 9720, making it the third-largest public holder of the asset. Back in February 2021, the Elon Musk company that he leads invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin to accumulate 43,000 BTC and hot on the heels was the announcement that TESLA would start to accept payments in Bitcoin.
Quickly afterward, the TESLA supremo had a change of heart when six weeks later they stopped using BTC as a payment processor citing worries in China post Covid-19. TESLA promptly began to sell many of their Bitcoin holdings reducing their investments by a staggering 75%.
Musk States He Will Increase Bitcoin Exposure
On the back of the sell-out of 75% of their Bitcoin equity, Musk declared he had not lost faith in the coin and intended to increase Tesla’s exposure to Bitcoin in the future.
At the time Musk said that the move was made “given the uncertainty of the COVID lockdowns in China.” He added, however, that “this should not be taken as some verdict on Bitcoin.”
For balance though, throughout this period Musk never sold any of his Dogecoin investments and remains very active around the meme coin.
What Does the Future Hold for Tesla and Bitcoin’s Relationship?
For context, we must remember that the market capitalization of TESLA is just under $700 billion, a very similar figure to that of Bitcoin and therefore, Tesla’s prudent approach currently makes huge sense. It would be wrong on a risk-reward level to have greater risk in their Bitcoin portfolio because logically they have a firmer grasp and control of the future for their own firm. To have the same market cap as Bitcoin tells us all we need to know that Tesla and Elon Musk-owned ventures are successful entities.
The TESLA accounts covered the period when the Bitcoin value rallied at the end of 2023 with the market confidence ahead of the ETFs that will flood the markets in 2024.
No doubt that Musk and Tesla have an eye on the Bitcoin halving due in April and the period covering those two important changes within Bitcoin and the volatile market fluctuations it will naturally cause. Once the markets settle back down, that will be the predictable time for Tesla to increase their exposure in Bitcoin and step back into the cryptocurrency world. After all, there is plenty of evidence that Musk enjoys and appreciates the industry better than many of the other business giants.
Looking to the Future
Tesla’s holdings in Bitcoin have been unmoved now for nearly two years. Those holdings are 25% of what they originally owned prior to the selloff in 2022. There is no doubt Musk’s confidence in the leading cryptocurrency waned a little in that period, and despite declaring at the time that he would increase Tesla’s future exposure in Bitcoin, he is yet to do so.
That said, we would be surprised if the magnate does not increase his holdings in the coming year or two, and it’s entirely plausible that he is waiting to let the markets settle back down after the current glut of ETF funds flooding the markets, along with the halving due in April.
Our overall conclusion is that you should watch this space, as we would be very surprised if Tesla does not step back into the markets with further investment. And rest assured if it is not Tesla, it will be other Elon Musk-owned ventures, given his long-term belief and healthy interest that he has always shown the cryptocurrency industry.
