Tesla, a well known American electric vehicle manufacturer, led by South African born CEO, Elon Musk, recently filed their 10-K filing for the fiscal year end with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing that the company has purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin.
The news of Tesla’s Bitcoin purchase spread like wildfire, sending shockwaves over the financial markets. Bitwise researcher, David Lawant, pointed out that Tesla’s Bitcoin exposure represents about 7.7% of its gross cash position.
According to the most recent 10K filing, @Tesla had cash & equivalents of $19.4 billion (gross), or $98 billion (net of debt and finance leases).
Using these figures as a reference, $1.5 billion in #Bitcoin represents an allocation of 7.7% on gross cash or 15.1% on net cash. https://t.co/FgRpzRcXBh pic.twitter.com/tDVqJGtj2Q
— David Lawant (@dlawant) February 8, 2021
Additionally, the company further revealed that they plan to accept the digital asset as a method of payment for their electric vehicles in the near future. It is highly unlikely that the Bitcoin received from these purchases will be liquidated for fiat cash.
Although the exact number of Bitcoin purchased has yet to be revealed, it is safe to say that Tesla’s recent Bitcoin purchase has been the largest of 2021 so far, putting the company near the top of the corporate treasuries list, just below MicroStrategy, who have purchased a total of 71,079 Bitcoin worth over $3.3 billion.
Since the announcement, the price of Bitcoin has surged to a new all-time high (ATH) above $48,000, quickly approaching the much anticipated $50,000 mark.
Many crypto enthusiasts predict that the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook will soon follow suit. Meanwhile, other pundits believe that they already have, but are holding out on the announcement.
Feature image by SAUD AL OLAYAN from flickr
