While Elon Musk is known best for his association with electric vehicles, he has other less-known passions, including cryptocurrencies. His biggest company Tesla holds considerable bitcoins that it did not trade in during the last quarter.
The company’s latest earnings report reveals a drop in value for its cryptos. It started the last quarter with an estimated 9,720 bitcoins worth $218 million but ended with $184 million, a shortfall of $34 million. The impairment charges corresponded with a decline in bitcoin prices from about $20,000 to $16,500 in the same period.
The same, however, was true of the third quarter as Tesla did not engage in trading of its crypto assets.
The last time there was action was the second quarter when it sold about 75% of its holding worth $936 million. The fund was used to address uncertainty in China over COVID-19 lockdowns. However, Musk pointed out at the time that Tesla was not desperately trying to dispose of its cryptos. He added the company was open to buying even more, although that has not happened yet.
Tesla reported a profit of $5.7 billion on revenue of $24.3 billion. The company outperformed in adjusted earnings per share, achieving $1.19 compared to the expected $1.13. This was enough to make investors happy, as Tesla’s shares are up over 8% in early morning trading today.
The American carmaker flirted with the idea of customers paying for their cars with bitcoins but axed it.
