Electric car maker Tesla revealed on Wednesday that its bitcoin (BTC) holdings remained untouched during the first quarter of 2023.
According to Tesla’s quarterly earnings report, the value of the “digital assets” held on the company’s balance sheet stood at $184 million, which is the same it was at for the prior quarter.
The reason the value remained flat despite a significant increase in the spot price of bitcoin over the quarter is the accounting rules Tesla operates under, which does not allow for unrealized gains on such holdings to be booked.
For the quarter, Tesla reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.85, in line with what was expected by most analysts.
The firm’s revenue came in at $23.33 billion, just below the $23.6 billion analysts had expected.
Third consecutive quarter with no changes to BTC holding
The first quarter of 2023 marks the third consecutive quarter where Tesla has held on to its digital assets, after it sold off some $936m worth of BTC during the second quarter of 2022 to raise cash amid Covid lockdowns.
Tesla has never revealed exactly how many BTC it holds, and instead only reports the US dollar value of all of its digital assets combined. However, it is believed that the vast majority of the $184m – if not everything – is held in the form of BTC.
According to an estimate by Bitcoin company Coinkite, the car maker holds some 9,720 BTC on its balance sheet.
Notably, Tesla chief Elon Musk has in the past also indicated that the company also holds some dogecoin (DOGE), although it remains unknown how much.
Tesla has never announced a purchase of DOGE, but it is known that the company accepts the meme coin as payment for some of its merchandise sold online.
Tesla shares opened almost 8% lower on Thursday compared to Wednesday’s close, but recovered some its losses in early trading on Wall Street.
Credit: Source link
