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New financial documents from Tesla hint that it might start accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments again.
The electric vehicle manufacturer’s latest quarterly report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) states that Bitcoin purchases could be restarted.
“During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, we purchased an aggregate of $1.50 billion in Bitcoin. In addition, during the three months ended March 31, 2021, we accepted Bitcoin as a form of payment for sales of certain of our products in specified regions, subject to applicable laws, and suspended this practice in May 2021.
We may in the future restart the practice of transacting in digital assets for our products and services.”
In February, Tesla made headlines after announcing it planned to accept BTC as a form of payment for its electric vehicles. But in May, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the company had halted Bitcoin payments, citing concerns about its energy consumption.
Musk’s varied public statements about Bitcoin are widely believed to have contributed to some of the digital asset’s dramatic price swings throughout 2021. The outspoken CEO has said that Tesla will likely start accepting Bitcoin payments again after the mining process becomes more environmentally friendly.
Tesla owns approximately 43,200 BTC bought for an average price of $34,722. At today’s value, Tesla has netted a 1.74x return on its investment, according to industry tracker Bitcoin Treasuries.
In the company’s Q3 SEC report, Tesla notes that the fair market value of its Bitcoin holdings as of September 30th was $1.83 billion.
The sustainable energy giant says,
“We believe 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 our view of market and environmental conditions.
However, digital assets may be subject to volatile market prices, which may be unfavorable at the times when we may want or need to liquidate them.”
Tesla’s market cap surged past $1 trillion for the first time this week.