Tesla announced in its second quarter earnings report that it shed about 75% of its Bitcoin between April 1 and the end of June.
Musk explained that the decision to convert Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings was not a “verdict” on Bitcoin, explaining that the decision was made to improve the company’s cash position due to uncertainty over COVID-19 restrictions in China that affected its Shanghai Gigafactory.
“The reason we sold a bunch of our Bitcoin holdings was that uncertainty as to when the COVID lockdowns in China would alleviate, so it was important for us to maximize our cash position given the uncertainty of the COVID lockdowns in China,” Musk said.
Tesla bought US$1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in February 2021, but the company earned US$936 million from the sale, which took place in the second quarter of 2022. While the company made US$936 million from the sale, it was reported as a negative impairment.
Most of Tesla’s remaining digital assets are believed to be Bitcoin, but Musk said in an earnings call that Tesla had not sold its Dogecoin, despite once claiming to own Dogecoin in person.
Tesla said total production for the Model S and X and Model 3 and Y reached 258,580 in the second quarter, an increase of 25% year-on-year, and total deliveries reached 254,695, an increase of 27% year-on-year.
The sources for this piece include an article in ZDNet.