Happy Bitcoin Anniversary, Tesla – Elon Musk company still has 9.7K BTC
Bitcoin (BTC) held by Tesla is still worth 33% less than its 2021 purchase price, the latest data shows.
Two years since Elon Musk’s company added BTC to its balance sheet, most of the gains continue to elude the automaker.
Tesla and Bitcoin: From $1.5 billion to $225 million
Bitcoin and Tesla have proven an explosive combination since Musk announced they would buy $1.5 billion in BTC.
The February 2021 move came as BTC/USD was on its way to its first all-time high of the year, which it reached in April, peaking at $58,000.
Tesla’s purchase price was around $34,700 at the time, according to data from tracking website Bitcoin Treasuries.
After selling 10% of its holdings in March of that year, Tesla became a heavyweight holder until a surprise move announced in July 2022 saw it sell 75% of its remaining coins.
It was done at a loss, as at the time BTC/USD was trading close to $23,000. The sale took place during the second quarter of 2022 at around $29,000 per coin.
Taking the hit seemed more appealing to Musk, who argued that the reasoning behind the sale was not a direct comment on Bitcoin as an investment.
Since then, Tesla has held 9,720 BTC, with subsequent price action still denying the company any investment gains. According to Bitcoin Treasuries, Tesla is still 33% below its February 2023 remaining inventory, worth $225 million.
TSLA and BTC rise in tandem
Earlier, Cointelegraph reported on the relationship between the Bitcoin spot price and Tesla stock, and both saw a broad rebound in early 2023.
Related: Bitcoin Gained 300% in Year Ahead of Last Halving — Is 2023 Different?
As of the Bitcoin purchase anniversary, TSLA is up 66% year-to-date, outpacing Bitcoin’s gains of just under 40%, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirm.
However, the rebound has failed to capture the imagination of the mainstream media, which this month chose to highlight Tesla’s 2022 BTC net loss, which in US dollars amounted to $140 million.
Meanwhile, Musk has arguably become better known in the context of other cryptocurrencies, most notably Dogecoin (DOGE), to which he has given considerable publicity on social media and elsewhere since 2021.
Recently, he revealed that payments would be coming to Twitter, which he bought last year, and that these may at some point include cryptocurrency.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
