The Tesla founder is famous for tweeting about different coins, creating much controversy in the process as people accuse him of deliberately manipulating the markets and abusing his position as the world’s richest man.

Now, Elon Musk is into Bitcoin and people are trying to figure out what changed and why he has turned his attention to the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.

Tesla to Accept Bitcoin

In February 2021, announced that it had nought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. Filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm said it had done so for “more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash.”

Musk’s privately-owned aerospace company SpaceX has also revealed that it is currently holding bitcoin.

At the B Word Conference last year, Musk made it clear that he wants to see the cryptocurrency space succeed over the long term, adding that neither he nor SpaceX and Tesla, will be looking to sell off, potentially hitting the price hard.

“If the price of Bitcoin goes down I lose money. I might pump but I don't dump. I definitely do not believe in getting the price high and selling or anything like that. I would like to see Bitcoin succeed.”

Tesla also said that it will now become the world’s first carmaker to accept cryptocurrency in exchange for its products.

According to a company filing, Tesla had $19 billion in cash and cash equivalents set aside at the end of 2020. Musk clearly has confidence in bitcoin’s future value as this represents a significant portion of the company’s finances.

Now, it is clear that all eyes will be on Elon Musk regarding his tweets about cryptocurrency. A week before Tesla announced the $1.5 billion bitcoin investment, Musk added #bitcoin to his Twitter bio and sent the price up by 20%. There was then a further surge once Tesla made its announcement.

In February 2022, it was reported that Tesla’s bitcoin holding is now worth almost $2 billion despite the investment losing $101 million over the year. $272 million in profit came from the sale of digital assets with the firm reiterating its stance on cryptocurrency in general in an SEC filing.

“...believes in the long-term potential of digital assets, both as an investment and also as a liquid alternative to cash.”

"As with any investment and consistent with how we manage fiat-based cash and cash equivalent accounts, we may increase or decrease our holdings of digital assets at any time based on the needs of the business and on our view of market and environmental conditions."