Electric carmaker Tesla on Monday reported that it held US$1.3 billion of Bitcoin, according to the company’s Q2 2021 financial results update.
Fast facts
- There was no change to Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings from the previous quarter, but the company took a Bitcoin-related impairment hit of US$23 million due to the fall in Bitcoin prices, according to its financial results.
- In Q1, Tesla purchased US$1.5 billion of Bitcoin and subsequently sold some of its Bitcoin holdings during the quarter for US$272 million in proceeds.
- In May, Tesla stopped accepting Bitcoin for vehicle purchases, citing environmental concerns, a move that sent Bitcoin prices plunging. “Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. We are also looking at other cryptocurrencies that use <1% of Bitcoin’s energy/ transaction,” its founder, Elon Musk, said in a tweet.
- Speaking at the B-Word conference last week, Musk said Tesla would “most likely” consider accepting crypto transactions again, pending further due diligence to ensure the percentage of renewable energy used in mining it was at least 50%. Musk also said his aerospace tech company, SpaceX, had invested in Bitcoin.
- Tesla reported producing and delivering more than 200,000 vehicles in Q2. The company saw its operating margin increase to 11% from 5.7% in Q1 and made more than US$1B of net income for the first time in its history.