Tesla sells off 75 percent of Bitcoin holdings

Tesla has sold off 75 percent of its holdings in Bitcoin, which was worth about $2 billion at the end of 2021, after making a huge investment in the cryptocurrency in 2021.

The value of Bitcoin has since crashed, and during an investor call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk emphasized that  the sale was about “overall liquidity” and did not reflect a “verdict” on Bitcoin itself.

“We are certainly open to increasing our Bitcoin holdings in future,” Musk said on the call, according to a report by Yahoo, “so this should not be taken as some verdict on Bitcoin. It’s just that we were concerned about overall liquidity for the company, given COVID shutdowns in China. And we have not sold any of our Dogecoin.”

When Musk and Tesla made their play in Bitcoin, it helped stoke excitement about the cyber currency, which surged in value. It has since come well back to earth.

As recently as March 29, Bitcoin was valued at $47,454. It now stands at $22,556.

Musk on the call said Tesla wanted to maximize its cash position, explaining the sale of $936 million in Bitcoin.

The company is also dealing with supply-chain issues related to the pandemic that have also hit a variety of other sectors and contributed to inflation. The company overall did grow revenue in the second quarter, according to its earnings reports released on Wednesday.

It has been a turbulent summer for Musk, who moved in to buy the social media platform Twitter before pulling out of a deal.

This has led to court action, with Twitter trying to stop Musk from withdrawing his $44 billion offer to take over the company.