Tesla Sells 3/4 of Its Bitcoin Holdings

Tesla had what the Guardian describes as a "shaky" second quarter, reporting a 32% drop in profit from the first quarter's record levels and having a difficult time meeting demand due to production issues. Amid all this, it has sold 75% of its bitcoin holdings, $936 million worth, per Yahoo Finance. "This should not be taken as some verdict of bitcoin," CEO Elon Musk said during a Wednesday earnings call, noting the company unloaded the cryptocurrency holdings only in order to maximize its cash position due to uncertainty in China regarding COVID lockdowns and how long they might last. "We haven’t sold any of our dogecoin." Even so, bitcoin prices fell after the earnings report.

"We are certainly open to increasing our bitcoin holdings in future," he continued. Cryptocurrency "is not something we think about a lot," Musk said. "It’s a side show to the side show … The fundamental good of Tesla and the reason we’re doing this is to have the day of sustainable energy come sooner. That’s our goal. We’re neither here nor there on cryptocurrency." Bitcoin fell to $18,000 in late June but is currently trading above $23,000. Also on Wednesday's call, Musk offered an optimistic prediction: "I would take this with a grain of salt … I think inflation will decline towards the end of this year." (More Tesla stories.)