Tesla on Monday revealed that it has invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin. The company also revealed that it may in the future accept bitcoin as a form of payment. Thanks to the news, the value of bitcoin in the last 24 hours has risen around 18% to more than $46,000 per coin As of today, if you want to buy an entry-level Tesla Model 3, you’ll have to shell out 0.8 bitcoin.
This revelation came when Tesla in its SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) noted that it has “updated [its] investment policy to provide [it] with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on [its] cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity,” The filing also noted that it now has the option of putting its cash into “certain alternative reserve assets” that include “digital assets, gold bullion, gold exchange-traded funds and other assets as specified in the future.”
In the filing, Tesla has mentioned that it has “invested an aggregate $1.50 billion in bitcoin” and also went on to say that the electric vehicle company in the future “may acquire and hold digital assets from time to time or long-term.”
Moreover, the company also completed the news-drop by saying that it “expect[s] to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for [its] products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which [it] may or may not liquidate upon receipt.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been in news for being the 21st century Midas by boosting the silly cryptocurrency called Dogecoin which started off as a joke. But this news is more instrumental as Tesla accepting cryptocurrency will help blockchain and cryptocurrency to further cement. And the fact that it has invested such an amount to the cryptocurrency indicates that the future of bitcoin will see a high value and exchange volume.
It should be noted that Elon himself has been instrumental in personally helping the price of bitcoin reach new heights thanks to his social presence. Last month, Musk changed his bio to just a single word “Bitcoin”, and helped the price of the world’s biggest currency reach new highs. Although as it is with every currency, bitcoin saw a correction phase and faded in value for a while.
After the news of Tesla’s direct involvement with bitcoin broke, Twitter users were reminded of an exchange between the Tesla CEO and Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy. This conversation, as most Twitteratis note, can be considered a foreshadowing of what was to occur.
Last year in December, Saylor replied to a bitcoin meme posted by Musk saying. “If you want to do your shareholders a $100 billion favor, convert the $TSLA balance sheet from USD to #BTC. Other firms on the S&P 500 would follow your lead & in time it would grow to become a $1 trillion favor.”
If you want to do your shareholders a $100 billion favor, convert the $TSLA balance sheet from USD to #BTC. Other firms on the S&P 500 would follow your lead & in time it would grow to become a $1 trillion favor.
— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) December 20, 2020
Musk, asked Saylor whether such “large transactions were even possible”.
Are such large transactions even possible?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2020
Saylor said that it is, giving an example of how he had purchased bitcoin and how he’d be “happy to share” his playbook.
Yes. I have purchased over $1.3 billion in #BTC in past months & would be happy to share my playbook with you offline – from one rocket scientist to another.
— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) December 20, 2020
This Twitter exchange gave a new life to the classic “how it started-how it’s going” memes on Twitter.
“In retrospect, it was inevitable.”@elonmusk #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/HVDO0DEI09
— Magic (@alextanmagic) February 8, 2021
It turns out such large transactions were, in fact, possible. 🤣 https://t.co/KpUmdH2kEK
— Scott Kane (@ataxiwardance) February 8, 2021
Recently, in one of the discussions of the voice-only chat app Clubhouse, Musk shared his perspective about bitcoin. Musk said how he once ate a slice of “bitcoin cake” and how he should have “clearly at least bought some bitcoin eight years ago- talk about being late to the party.” Musk also reaffirmed his position on bitcoin saying, “I do at this point think bitcoin is a good thing, and I am a supporter of bitcoin.”
Tesla spent 3 paragraphs in its SEC filing saying that the choice that they have made is indeed risky. This statement can be considered an understatement, given the volatility of Bitcoin. But then again, Elon Musk has done what Elon Musk does best: entertain and awe.
Also read: Tesla Makes An Entry in India; Registered as a Private Ltd Company in Bengaluru