In the latest earnings report released on Wednesday, Tesla (TSLA), the renowned U.S. automaker, disclosed that its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings remained steady at 9,720 BTC throughout the third quarter. Notably, there was no mention of Bitcoin in the quarterly report, indicating that the company neither acquired nor disposed of any BTC during the three-month period ending in September.
The value of this holding, based on the current market price of approximately $28,300 per BTC, stands at $275.4 million, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of unchanged Bitcoin holdings for Tesla.
It’s worth recalling that earlier in February 2021, Tesla, under the leadership of its CEO and prominent cryptocurrency advocate, Elon Musk, made a substantial investment of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, accumulating approximately 43,000 BTC. During that same month, the company also announced its plans to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. However, in subsequent months, Tesla altered its course. In the first quarter of 2021, it sold 4,320 BTC and, later in the year, liquidated 75% of the remaining balance at a significant loss.
Nonetheless, Tesla continues to maintain its position as the third-largest public company in terms of Bitcoin holdings, trailing behind MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA).
In broader financial terms, Tesla reported a net income of $1.85 billion for the third quarter spanning July to September. This figure represents a 44% decrease compared to the previous year, with earnings per share declining from 95 cents to 53 cents.