Q2 Bitcoin Sales of $936M Gives Tesla a $64M Gain

Tesla made $936 million in the second quarter by selling 75% of its Bitcoin holdings, according to information provided in the company’s 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The sale was good for a $64 million gain. The filing detailed statements and information provided in Tesla’s quarterly earnings release and call on Wednesday.

In the call, Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, Zach Kirkhorn, said that a majority of the company’s Bitcoin was converted to fiat currency for a profit, but that they also had to take an impairment charge on the remaining portion of their holdings. This amounted to a $106 million hit to the Profit and Loss Statement within restructure and other.

Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2021, but did not reveal the average price at which they were purchased. The company later sold 10% of its Bitcoin holdings in the first quarter, adding $272 million in earnings for that quarter.

Tesla neither added to nor subtracted from its Bitcoin holdings until it sold the 75% during the last quarter, a move that CEO Elon Musk said was to raise cash due to COVID-19 lockdowns in China, one of Tesla’s biggest markets.

Tesla did not reveal the price that they sold their Bitcoin for in the second quarter, but if they did, it would roughly have been around $29,000 per coin. This was a much more comfortable price than what Bitcoin was sitting at the end of the second quarter, just below $19,000.