Tesla bitcoin sell-off: how much is left in Musk’s coffers?

After Elon Musk's Tesla moved hundreds of millions worth of bitcoin (BTC) last week, sparking speculation about its significance, blockchain analysts claim that the electric car giant still holds its stash.

Last week, the company transferred 11,509 BTC, worth $770 million at the time of writing. Industry observers speculated that Musk might have resumed buying BTC, moved the funds to a custodian, or that the company was attempting to secure a loan against bitcoin.

However, analysts at the blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence say they believe that the wallet movements were simply rotations, with Tesla still owning the BTC.

According to them, the BTC stash has been split among seven wallets, each holding between 1,100 and 2,200 BTC.

There have been no official comments from Tesla or Musk regarding the matter.

Tesla announced its first acquisition of BTC in February 2021, spending around $1.5 billion on the purchase. At the time, BTC was trading at around $40,000, closing that volatile year just above this mark.

Back then, Musk stated that owning BTC was "only a little better than holding conventional cash," but the slight difference made it a better asset to hold. The same year, Tesla briefly accepted BTC payments for less than two months before Musk decided that bitcoin mining was not environmentally friendly.

He later said Tesla might resume BTC payments once 50% of the energy consumed by bitcoin miners came from renewable sources. Despite reports from bitcoin advocates that this threshold has been met, Tesla has yet to resume BTC payments and has gradually sold off parts of its BTC stash.

Meanwhile, another of Musk's companies, spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, also holds BTC on its balance sheet.

According to Arkham Intelligence, the space company owns 8,285 BTC, currently worth $553 million. The balance hasn’t changed in two years, with the last transaction, worth $0.36, registered five months ago.