Tesla’s third-quarter financial statement reveals that the electric car company has not sold any of its bitcoin. Its most recent balance sheet shows that Tesla continues to hold bitcoin valued at $184 million. Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has raised concerns about the high-interest rate environment affecting the auto industry.
Tesla’s Q3 Earnings Report
Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) released its third-quarter earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $23.35 billion in revenue and $1.85 billion in profits, marking declines compared to the previous quarter.
Despite its earnings missing Wall Street expectations, the electric car company’s balance sheet still shows net digital assets of $184 million. This is the fourth straight quarter that Tesla has recorded the same value for its digital assets, which mostly consist of bitcoin (BTC).
Tesla invested $1.5 billion in BTC in Q1 2021 but sold 75% of its holdings in Q2 2022. Musk explained at the time that the company is “certainly open” to increasing its bitcoin holdings in the future, noting that the sale was due to concerns about the company’s overall liquidity, “given Covid shutdowns in China.” Tesla’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also states: “We may increase or decrease our holdings of digital assets at any time based on the needs of the business and our view of market and environmental conditions.” In January, Tesla’s SEC filing showed the fair market value of the company’s BTC holdings was $191 million at the end of 2022.
The electric car company also accepts the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE) for some merchandise, which accounted for an “immaterial amount” of digital assets as stated in the company’s SEC filing.
During Tesla’s Q3 earnings call on Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk highlighted several concerns affecting his company’s profitability, including the high interest rate environment. He stressed:
I am worried about the high interest rate environment that we’re in. I just can’t emphasize this enough that the vast majority of people buying a car is about the monthly payment.
“As interest rates rise, the proportion of that monthly payment that is interest increases naturally,” Musk said. “If interest rates remain high or if they go even higher, it’s that much harder for people to buy the car. They simply can’t afford it.”
What do you think about Tesla maintaining its bitcoin holdings and Elon Musk’s interest rate concerns? Let us know in the comments section below.