Elon Musk says Tesla sold 10% of its bitcoin to show it’s a good alternative to cash – but he isn’t selling his personal holding

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Tesla CEO, Elon Musk.

Elon Musk said Tesla sold 10 percent of its own bitcoin holdings to show it's a good alternative to cash.
The billionaire added he hasn't offered any of his personal bitcoin holdings.
Tesla beat Wall Street expectations for profit on Monday, but fell short on earnings.
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Tesla leader Elon Musk said on Tuesday the electrical car maker sold 10 percent of its own bitcoin holdings to prove it's a good substitute for cash.

He was responding to remarks from Barstool Sports creator Dave Portnoy, that contested if Tesla had profited by a bitcoin pump-and-dump plot – a practice which encourages investors to raise the purchase cost of an asset based on exaggerated statements.

Tesla disclosed on Monday that it frees out $272 million worth of digital assets at the initial quarter of 2021, earning over $100 million in earnings in the purchase. The automaker's first-quarter earnings revealed continued adulthood, as earnings rose 74 percent compared to the exact same period of 2020.

After the earnings report, Portnoy tweeted: "So am I understanding this correctly? @elonmusk purchases #bitcoin. He then pumps it. It moves up. He then dumps it and earn a fortune. Listen I own 1 #Bitcoin however #bitcoin is exactly who we believed it had been. Just don't be Measure 1 #HODLing the bag. "

Musk refused his opinion, responding with: "No, you don’t. I have not offered any of my bitcoin. Tesla sold 10 percent of its holdings basically to prove liquidity of bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash on balance sheet. "

Portnoy said earlier this year he would never buy bitcoin, but has now changed his position and also calls himself a "true apology " in the cryptocurrency.

Within a sales call with analysts and investors, Tesla's chief financial officer Zachary Kirkhorn said the firm plans to continue incorporating bitcoin to its balance sheet from vehicle sales.

Registering a 101 million gain from selling 10 percent of its own bitcoin holdings over the quarter balances for about $ 0.25 per share of the $0.93 per share reported earnings, Deutsche Bank strategists said. Meanwhile, the topping Wall Street estimates qualifies Musk for 2 options payouts worth a combined $11 billion, according to Reuters.

Musk himself has not been open about just how much bitcoin he personally owns, but his most recent tweet seems to imply he's not planning to sell it.

Bitcoin rose above $54,500 on Tuesday, increasing 16 percent in the low of around $47,200 last week. Tesla shares fell 2.5% in pre-market trading, as several analysts said only meeting Wall Street expectations was fairly underwhelming.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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