Tesla’s Q2 earnings report reveals that carmaker has not sold its Bitcoin holdings

Tesla stopped accepting Bitcoin in May citing environmental concerns over BTC mining. Despite withdrawing its support for the crypto, the electric car manufacturer has not sold any Bitcoin since its announcement.

In its second-quarter earnings presentation on Monday, Tesla has not reported any new sales or purchases of Bitcoin. The electric carmaker still holds BTC valued at $1.3 billion as of the end of Q2 2021, according to Coindesk.

However, the company reported a $23 million impairment on its BTC holdings. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Bitcoin’s value needs to be recorded at the lowest price the crypto hit in the quarter since it is considered an inventory asset.

In February, the company announced its $1.5 billion investment in the crypto in its Form 10-K filing for the fiscal year ended December 31,2020 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company explained that its BTC purchase is part of its new investment policy that allows it to invest in digital assets, gold bullion, and gold exchange-traded funds as alternative reserve assets aimed at maximizing returns and diversifying its portfolio.

With its $1.5 billion Bitcoin holdings, the electric carmaker became one of the top five firms with the largest holdings of the crypto. With its 43,000 BTC, Tesla is second only to Microstrategy’s 71,079 BTC. However, the company later sold 10 percent of its Bitcoin position, which boosted first-quarter earnings by a sizable $272 million.

In March, the company started accepting Bitcoin as a payment option. “You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin,” Elon Musk tweeted on March 24.

But the carmaker surprised the crypto community in May when it announced that it is suspending Bitcoin payments. The announcement sent BTC’s price tumbling.

“We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” Musk said in a tweet on May 13. “Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment.”

It also started speculations that Tesla might be planning to sell its BTC hoard. “To clarify speculation, Tesla has not sold any Bitcoin,” Musk later tweeted to clarify the rumors.

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