Telsa Sells Portion of Bitcoin Holdings to Realize Massive Gains in 1Q21

Electric vehicle manufacturer Telsa Motors has sold a part of Bitcoins (BTC) held in the company’s balance sheet in the first-quarter of 2021, realizing a profit of $272 million, as per the quarterly earnings report published yesterday. The 30-page addendum published along with the quarterly performance report indicates that Tesla has realized a $101 million “positive impact” as an outcome of its Bitcoin sale:

“Year over year, positive impacts from volume growth, regulatory credit revenue growth, gross margin improvement driven by further product cost reductions and sale of Bitcoin ($101M positive impact, net of related impairments, in Restructuring & Other line), were mainly offset by a lower ASP, increased SBC, additional supply chain costs, R&D investments and other items. Model S and Model X changeover costs negatively impacted both gross profit as well as R&D expenses.”

Specifically, Tesla’s cash flow statement states that the “proceeds from sales of digital assets” were $272 million. Back in February, the autonomous driving vehicle hogged the limelight after disclosing a strategic purchase of $1.50 billion worth Bitcoins. The investment translated to 7.70% of the company’s gross cash position.

Tesla had also stated that it will accept Bitcoin as mode of payment for its cars and also retain it in its balance sheet without converting into fiat currency.

Overall, the company reported net income of $438 million in the first-quarter, reflecting a record high figure. Furthermore, earnings per share stood at $0.93 on revenues of $10.39 billion. The firm, headed by Elon Musk, stated that it anticipates vehicle delivery growth to surpass 50% in 2021, translating to deliveries of about 750,000 vehicles this year.