Elon Musk Dismisses Accusations on liquidating his Bitcoin Holdings

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has dismissed accusations that he is liquidating all his Bitcoin holdings. He instead stated that Tesla had cashed out 10% of its crypto holdings to illustrate the liquidity of cryptocurrencies.

The Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has come out to address allegations stating that he is selling his Bitcoin. The CEO had been accused of Bitcoin pump and dump by the founder of Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy. Elon Musk clarified that Tesla had cashed 10% of its cryptocurrency holdings to prove that crypto assets are liquid.

Portnoy had earlier stated that Elon Musk pumps up Bitcoin and later dumps it by selling it at a higher price and thereby making profits. However, Elon Musk responded to the tweet stating that he has still maintained his Bitcoin holdings and that Tesla had sold 10% of crypto holdings to show Bitcoin’s liquidity and illustrate it can be held on the balance sheet.

No, you do not. I have not sold any of my Bitcoin. Tesla sold 10% of its holdings essentially to prove liquidity of Bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash on balance sheet.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2021

Tesla Sells $272M BTC in Q1

According to Tesla’s financial period for Q1, the company had recorded $1.5 billion from purchases made using cryptocurrencies. The company then recorded a Bitcoin sale amounting to $272 million, recorded in their financial reports.

Tesla also stated that the Bitcoin sale had greatly benefited the company, given that it contributed to the $101 million profits that the firm reported for the first quarter.

Elon Musk has come out as a great supporter of cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Dogecoin. His acceptance of Bitcoin as payment when purchasing Tesla created a positive impact on the crypto market. The CEO also updates his Twitter with posts regarding cryptocurrencies, which has an outstanding impact on the market

A long-term strategy

Tesla has also stated that it primarily holds Bitcoin as a long-term strategy. During its reporting for the first quarter, the company’s CFO, Zachary Kirkhorn, stated that investing in Bitcoin has been a great move.

Kirkhorn also stated that the company invests in Bitcoin using the cash that is not needed for the daily operations of the electronic car manufacturer. The company could later gain some returns from the cash held in Bitcoin as the prices of the crypto shoot up.

Tesla also stated that the cryptocurrency holdings not liquidated during the first quarter would be used for long-term holding. Kirkhorn also noted that Tesla was optimistic about the appreciating value of Bitcoin and further added that the firm was looking into buying more of the currency in the future.