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- Tesla's bitcoin holdings were worth $2.48 billion at the end of the first quarter, SEC filings show.
- The electric vehicle manufacturer initially bought $1.5 billion of bitcoin in January and now accepts the cryptocurrency as a form of payment for its products.
- Tesla said it sold 10% of its bitcoin holdings worth $272 million in the first quarter to prove its liquidity.
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Tesla owned $2.48 billion worth of bitcoin at the end of the first quarter, according to the company's first-quarter SEC filings.
The electric vehicle manufacturer initially bought $1.5 billion of bitcoin in January and now accepts the cryptocurrency as a form of payment for its products. It is unclear if Tesla received any bitcoin for its products in the first quarter.
Bitcoin surged more than 100% in the first three months of 2021, meaning that Tesla's is sitting on significant unrealized gains with its crypto position.
The company said it sold $272 million of bitcoin in the first quarter, recognizing a profit of $101 million. Musk said the bitcoin sale in the first quarter was to prove that it is liquid and an alternative to cash.
The CEO said in a tweet responding to David Portnoy's criticism of bitcoin as a "pump and dump" scheme: "…I have not sold any of my Bitcoin. Tesla sold 10% of its holdings essentially to prove liquidity of Bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash on balance sheet."
Tesla's owned 41,953 bitcoin at the end of the first quarter, based off of the cryptocurrency's closing price of $59,114 on March 31.
Bitcoin has staged a volatile trading path in April, with the cryptocurrency hitting a record high of almost $65,000 before tumbling more than 20% to below $50,000. Bitcoin has since recovered some of its losses and is trading at $55,180 as of Wednesday morning.