Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has opened up about the electric car company’s total Bitcoin (BTC) holdings.
Musk says on Twitter that the technology giant owns “close to” 42,000 Bitcoin, which is worth more than $1.60 billion at time of writing, according to CoinGecko.
Musk personally owns Bitcoin, and his other famous company, aerospace firm SpaceX, holds BTC on its balance sheet as well.
Tesla has endured a $23 million impairment loss related to its Bitcoin holdings, according to the company’s Q2 2021 financial update. The document indicates Tesla spent a total of $1.5 billion on digital asset purchases and has earned $272 million in proceeds from sales of crypto.
Musk’s varying public opinions on Bitcoin are widely believed to have contributed to some of the digital asset’s dramatic price swings in 2021.
The outspoken CEO has said that Tesla will likely start accepting Bitcoin payments again once the mining process becomes more environmentally friendly. He says a verifiable shift away from coal and toward renewable energy may be underway.
“I want to do a little more due diligence to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy usage is most likely at or above 50% and that there is a trend toward increasing that number. If so, Tesla will resume accepting Bitcoin.”
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