Tesla's Bitcoin Stance
Tesla Retains Bitcoin Holdings in Q2, Incurring $112 Million Fair-Value Accounting Loss
Anonymous
Key Points
1
Tesla's digital assets totaled about $674 million as of March 31, down 14.24% from the prior quarter and 45% year over year, with 11,509 BTC unchanged over that period.
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Arkham Intelligence corroborates Tesla’s Bitcoin stack at 11,509 BTC and notes the company ranks as the 12th-largest corporate holder, behind Strategy Inc. (with a BTC stake valued in the tens of billions).
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Bitcoin’s quarter-long price action included a start near $83,000, a drop to about $58,000, and a rally back toward $65,840 by quarter’s end, which drove the fair-value accounting gains/losses on Tesla’s balance sheet.
4
Tesla originally bought 43,200 BTC in 2021 for about $1.5 billion, later reduced holdings in 2022 to the current 11,509 BTC, and paid about $386 million for its current BTC position.
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At the close of the period, Tesla’s 11,509 BTC were worth roughly $758 million given BTC around $65,840, illustrating the gap between accounting fair value and the cost basis.
Tesla held every one of its 11,509 Bitcoin in Q2 — no buys, no sales — even as the company booked a $112 million after-tax loss on those holdings, according to Benzinga. The loss came from fair-value accounting, which forces companies to mark their crypto to current market prices each quarter, turning price swings into paper gains or losses on the books.
It was Tesla's third straight quarter of crypto losses, Yahoo Finance reported. Yet the electric vehicle giant still held $674 million in digital assets as of March 31, and has made clear it treats Bitcoin as a long-term treasury asset — not a trading position.
Bitcoin Price Swings Drove the $112M Paper Loss
Bitcoin had a rough quarter. The price started Q2 near $83,000, then dropped to roughly $58,000 mid-quarter, according to CoinTribune. It climbed back to about $65,840 by quarter's end. That rollercoaster is what triggered the accounting loss — the fair-value method records unrealized moves as real gains or losses.
At $65,840 per coin, Tesla's 11,509 BTC were worth about $758 million at the close of the quarter, according to Scanx Trade. But the accounting value on its balance sheet showed $674 million. The gap reflects timing and how fair-value rules work — the two numbers don't always match perfectly.
Tesla Paid $386 Million for Its Current Bitcoin Stack
Tesla originally bought 43,200 BTC back in 2021 for about $1.5 billion. It sold most of that in 2022, cutting its holdings down to the current 11,509 BTC, according to Yahoo Finance. The company paid roughly $386 million for the coins it still holds today.
That means Tesla's Bitcoin position is currently worth nearly double what it paid for it. Even after three consecutive quarters of paper losses, the long-term math still favors the company — at least at current prices.
Tesla Ranks 12th Among Corporate Bitcoin Holders
Blockchain tracking firm Arkham Intelligence confirmed Tesla's 11,509 BTC balance independently. The data places Tesla 12th among all corporate Bitcoin holders worldwide, according to Benzinga. Strategy Inc. sits far ahead at the top, with a Bitcoin stake valued in the tens of billions.
Tesla once briefly accepted Bitcoin as payment for its cars. It stopped in 2021, citing concerns about the energy used to mine the cryptocurrency. Since then, it has kept the coins but stayed out of the crypto payment space entirely.
Tesla's Broader Q2 Results: Revenue Up, Earnings Miss
Beyond crypto, Tesla reported $28.24 billion in total revenue for Q2. The company said it crossed $100 billion in trailing twelve-month revenue — a milestone, according to CoinTribune. Still, earnings per share came in below analyst expectations, putting pressure on the stock.
The crypto loss was a small slice of the overall picture. But three straight quarters of Bitcoin-related losses draw attention, especially as Tesla's core auto business faces slowing demand and rising competition from Chinese EV makers.
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