Tesla Moves $765M Bitcoin To Unknown Wallets, Raising Questions About Elon Musk's Crypto Strategy

Tesla Moves $765M Bitcoin To Unknown Wallets, Raising Questions About Elon Musk’s Crypto Strategy

Updated: 16 October 2024

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Electric vehicle giant Tesla has transferred Bitcoin holdings worth over $765 million to unknown wallets, sparking speculation about Elon Musk’s crypto strategy.

The electric vehicle maker moved its entire stash of 11,500 BTC on Oct. 15 in 26 transactions, the first activity from its crypto wallet since June 2022, according to Arkham Intelligence.

Tesla, which was the fourth-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin among listed companies in the US, didn’t comment on why it moved the digital assets. Tesla’s tracked wallets now hold just $6.74 worth of Bitcoin.

TESLA JUST MOVED ANOTHER $260M BTC

TOTAL MOVED: $760M pic.twitter.com/ukAcHW1EZC

— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) October 15, 2024

According to BitcoinTreasuries data, only MicroStrategy (MSTR), Marathon Digital (MARA), and Riot Platforms (RIOT) have larger BTC stockpiles than Tesla.

Tesla made headlines in February 2021 when it announced a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin (BTC). Since then, the market has closely watched Tesla’s BTC holdings.

Tesla Sold Bitcoin Because Of Environmental Concerns

In June 2022, Tesla sold a large portion of its BTC holdings, citing environmental concerns over the heavy reliance on fossil fuels, particularly coal, to power Bitcoin mining operations.

Plans to allow Bitcoin to be used for payments were also abandoned on environmental concerns.

Musk’s position on Bitcoin is opaque, although he has long been a big fan of the meme coin Dogecoin.

“There’s some merit in bitcoin, and maybe some other crypto,” he said in a July interview.

The has been no official comment from the company about the movement of the Bitcoin holdings, leaving investors to await Tesla’s Q3 earnings report, scheduled for Oct. 23, for insights into the thinking behind the move.