Tesla says its bitcoin holdings swelled to nearly $2 billion last year

• The company suffered a $101 million impairment loss on its Bitcoin holdings in 2021

• Tesla gets a profit of $128 million from the sale of a portion of its bitcoins in March 2021

Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Bitcoin assets were valued at $1.99 billion as of December 31, 2021, according to a new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Monday. 

According to the report, the corporation spent around $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in 2021. The corporation suffered a $101 million impairment loss on its Bitcoin holdings, but it also profited $128 million from the sale of a portion of its bitcoins in March 2021. Tesla said that “the fair market value of our bitcoin holdings as of December 31, 2021, was $1.99 billion.” 

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Tesla said that it will take bitcoins as payment for its automobiles shortly after revealing that it had purchased Bitcoin in March 2021. 

Meanwhile, two months later, the firm reversed its decision, citing environmental concerns, with CEO Elon Musk stating that Tesla will restart Bitcoin purchases if the cryptocurrency becomes environmental friendly.

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“We believe in the long-term potential of digital assets both as an investment and also as a liquid alternative to cash,” the company said in the filing. “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 our view of the market and environmental conditions.”

The cryptocurrency ended the year up roughly 60%, trading around $46,000 on December 31. It had fallen as low as $30,000 in July to an all-time high of more than $68,000 by early November. On Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading slightly below $43,000 as the cryptocurrency's price is unpredictable, with no indication where it may go in the future.

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SEC subpoena

Meanwhile, the news came in on the same day when the SEC issued another subpoena on Tesla, this time seeking information on the governance process around the settlement that ordered CEO Elon Musk's tweets to be scrutinized.

In regulatory documents released Monday, the automaker stated that the SEC issued the subpoena on November 16, 2021, about Tesla's compliance with a settlement negotiated with the agency after Musk announced that he would take the EV maker private.