In a recent SEC filing by Tesla, it was revealed that by December 2021 the company owns $1.99 billion worth of Bitcoins. In the first quarter of 2021, the automaker invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoins. Later by March, the company gained $128 million as it sold part of its Bitcoin holdings.
Last year Tesla started accepting Bitcoin payments briefly. However, it has come to attention that Bitcoin mining is not completely environmentally friendly yet. Then the Bitcoin payments were halted. Later Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated on Twitter that Bitcoin payments will be resumed once it becomes environmentally friendly. Regardless of the halting of the Bitcoin payments, the company recently started Dogecoin payments for select merch. Though the company seems to be experimenting with their assets in digital currency continues to exist.
In the Form-K filed to the SEC it is mentioned as, “In the first quarter of 2021, we invested an aggregate $1.50 billion in bitcoin. We believe in the long-term potential of digital assets both as an investment and also as a liquid alternative to cash. As with any investment and consistent with how we manage fiat-based cash and cash-equivalent accounts, we may increase or decrease our holdings of digital assets at any time based on the needs of the business and our view of the market and environmental conditions. Digital assets are considered indefinite-lived intangible assets under applicable accounting rules.“
Potential of digital assets
Tesla noted in its Form 10-K that the company remains a believer in the potential of digital assets like bitcoin, both as an investment and as a liquid alternative to cash. Stated, “We believe in the long-term potential of digital assets both as an investment and also as a liquid alternative to cash.”
While Tesla also pointed out the volatile market of digital assets, it is also possible that the holdings may be increased or decreased depending on the liquid alternative cash within the company. There is no specific implication about Tesla investing more in Bitcoins anytime soon.
While Tesla is yet to reinstate bitcoin payments for its products, the company has been experimenting with another digital asset as a payment option. Just last month, Tesla launched the option to pay for some select merchandise in the Tesla Shop using Dogecoin, a meme-inspired cryptocurrency that CEO Elon Musk is particularly fond of. Unlike the high-ticket items that were available for bitcoin transactions in the past, however, Dogecoin purchases on the Tesla Shop were limited to small items such as the Giga Texas Belt Buckle, Cyberwhistle, and the Cyberquad for Kids.
