• The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, confirmed last week that he has not yet sold any of his personal bitcoin in response to the speculations of many that he was just another pump & dump investor.
  • However, on the same note, he confirmed that his company Tesla had sold a portion of investment in bitcoin as a proof of concept to the digital asset’s high liquidity as an alternative asset.
  • Tesla invested a whopping $1.5B in bitcoin holdings earlier this year, creating a massive wave of institutional investment for the top cryptocurrency.
    Billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has recently tweeted, “I have not sold any of my Bitcoin.” The renowned innovator also mentioned that his company Tesla had sold 10% of its holdings essentially to prove its liquidity; projecting is an alternative to holding cash on the balance sheet.

Musk took to Twitter to assure the crypto community that he had not sold any part of his BTC stash, thus squashing all rumors making rounds recently on the issue. His tweets came as a reply to comedian Dave Portnoy’s allegation on Twitter that the billionaire deployed a Bitcoin pump-and-dump to derive huge profits, despite having supported the cryptocurrency publicly.

Tesla and Bitcoin Trading

The leading car company reportedly makes more money trading bitcoin than by selling cars. Tesla’s record profits owe credit to Bitcoin trading and regulatory credits. Its electric-car market share has managed to erode established markets of Western Europe and the US, with large car companies such as Ford, General Motors, and Volkswagen now planning to step into the electric market as well. However, a large part of Tesla’s record-touching profits is not due to car sales.

Image Source: CNA

Tesla had sold a part of its BTC holdings in Q1 2021 and derived net proceeds of $272 million from the transaction. The company had disclosed a strategic acquisition of Bitcoins in February this year, worth $1.5 Billion or 7.`7% of its gross position at the time.

The step seemed to have significantly escalated the crypto market bull run to an altogether new level. In the same month, the American clean energy company had also announced that it would start accepting cryptocurrency for its cars to store its funds in Bitcoin instead of cash.

Bitcoins versus Cash

Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin has prompted worldwide corporate treasurers to take cryptocurrencies seriously. Despite several countries still viewing the disruptive token as “too risky” compared to cash, those at Tesla’s helm believe in its long-term value.

Several strategists worldwide consider Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as only speculative investments and not legitimate alternatives to cash. According to BCA Research Inc, Bitcoin fails as a store of value or unit of account due to its volatility, even though these are the basic functions of money. However, Musk continues to be a high-profile proponent of cryptocurrencies for a long time now.

Elon Musk has not disclosed the value of his personal wealth in Bitcoins, but he has made clear that he is not in a mood to sell it for now. BTC was trading at $56,678.19 at the time of writing, having gained 12.9% over the past week, according to data from CoinGecko.