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| Tesla now owns nearly $2 billion in bitcoin |
Tesla, in a new filing with the United States, has released an update on how much bitcoin it owns, confirming that it now owns $1.99 billion in cryptocurrency.
In early 2021, the company invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. Soon, the automaker began accepting cryptocurrencies to pay for new cars.
However, a few days later, Tesla removed the option to pay with Bitcoin. The company has raised concerns about electricity demand on the Bitcoin network.
"The company has stopped using bitcoin to buy cars," she said. We are concerned about the rapid increase in the use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining and trading, particularly coal, the most polluting fuel of all.
When the company first announced its investment in Bitcoin, it was a concern shared by many in the Tesla community. Many were upset because the company didn't think about it.
The company said at the time that it had not yet sold its bitcoin holdings and planned to start accepting bitcoin payments again as soon as the network demonstrated a higher mix of renewable energy.
CEO Elon Musk said last summer that he believes the company can start accepting Bitcoin payments again as he sees an improved energy mix for Bitcoin mining.
It hasn't happened yet. But the company holds the cryptocurrency. The automaker has confirmed that it now owns nearly $2 billion in bitcoin, which is currently worth about $2 billion, after selling part of its holding as a liquidity test.
Tesla Still Investing in Bitcoin
“We purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin during the year ending December 31, 2021,” the company said in the filing. We recorded an impairment of $101 million on these digital assets for the year ended December 31, 2021.
She added: "We obtained $128 million from the sale of a portion of our inventory in March 2021. These gains, net of restructuring and other impairment, are included in the consolidated income statement.
The book value of the company's digital assets as of December 31, 2021 was $1.26 billion, reflecting a cumulative impairment of $101 million.
The market capitalization of these digital assets held as of December 31, 2021 was $1.99 billion.
The cryptocurrency finished the last year with a gain of nearly 60%. It traded above $46,000 on December 31.
It fell to $30,000 in July due to concerns about a government crackdown in China. But in early November, it reached an all-time high of more than $68,000. Bitcoin is now trading at around $43,000.