Tesla Didn't Sell Any Bitcoin In Q4, But The Elon Musk-Led Company's Paper Losses Amounted To Millions

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) retained its Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC)through the fourth quarter, but reported paper losses on the holdings on Wednesday

Tesla Reports Unrealized Loss On Bitcoin

Tesla held $1.008 billion in digital assets as of Dec. 31, down 23% from the previous quarter, according to the company's earnings report posted after the market close.

The Elon Musk-led mobility giant reported paper losses of $307 million on its cryptocurrency holdings, reversing two consecutive quarters of paper profits.

Tesla does not publish a breakdown of its cryptocurrency holdings. However, on-chain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence reports that its stockpile consists solely of Bitcoin. Its stash of 11,509 BTC remained unchanged from the last quarter.

Moreover, Bitcoin closed the fourth quarter down 23.7%, consistent with the decline in the value of Tesla's digital assets.

Tesla’s Bitcoin journey began in January 2021, when it first acquired $1.5 billion worth of the leading cryptocurrency. 

Tesla previously accepted Bitcoin as a payment option for vehicles before ending the practice due to concerns about the energy consumption used in Bitcoin mining.

Tesla Posts Strong Q4 Earnings 

Tesla reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results, with earnings and revenue beating consensus estimates.

The company also agreed to invest $2 billion to acquire shares in Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI.

Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $88,510.89, down 0.98% over the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Tesla shares rose 1.92% in after-hours trading after closing 0.13% higher at $431.46 during Wednesday’s regular trading session.

Benzinga's proprietary Edge Rankings show Momentum as the strongest category for TSLA, with a weaker price trend over the short and medium term.

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