Tesla Sells Off 75% of Bitcoin at a Hefty Loss
Bitcoin

Tesla Sells Off 75% of Bitcoin at a Hefty Loss

Explaining its rationale for selling, the company explained that profits had been dragged down by the COVID-related shutdown of its gigafactory in Shanghai.

Tesla Sells Off 75% of Bitcoin at a Hefty Loss

Tesla has sold off 75% of its Bitcoin investment.

The electric vehicle manufacturer said it received $936 million for the crypto stash — incurring a hefty loss in the process.

Explaining its rationale for selling, the company explained that profits had been dragged down by the COVID-related shutdown of its gigafactory in Shanghai.

Concerns about liquidity prompted Tesla to offload its Bitcoin.

In an earnings call with investors on Wednesday, Elon Musk said it was "important for us to maximize our cash position" — adding:

"We are certainly open to increasing our Bitcoin holdings in future. So this should not be taken as some verdict on Bitcoin. It's just that we were concerned about overall liquidity for the company given COVID shutdowns in China. And we have not sold any of our Dogecoin."

The world's biggest cryptocurrency did slip below $23,000 on Thursday, but this may have been linked to the European Central Bank's decision to introduce its biggest interest rate hikes for 20 years.

Tesla's sell-offs mark the latest milestone in a difficult relationship with crypto.

The company had become one of the first on the stock market to invest in Bitcoin back in February 2021 — purchasing $1.5 billion of the digital asset. This was a crucial factor in BTC's bull run.

But Tesla later caused a stir when it sold off 10% of this investment, apparently in an attempt to prove its liquidity. And the markets were thrown into disarray when the company reversed a decision to accept BTC as a payment method, with Musk raising concerns about the cryptocurrency's impact on the environment.

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