Tesla's Hypothetical Bitcoin HODL: What Could Have Been vs. Reality

If Tesla had held onto its initial investment of 43,000 BTC purchased at an average cost of around $38,000 in February 2021, the company's Bitcoin holdings would have been valued at nearly $3.2 billion at the peak price of $73,750 reached in 2024. This would have resulted in a gain of over 100%, or approximately $1.55 billion. However, Tesla opted to sell a portion of its Bitcoin holdings during various market movements, including selling 10% of its position in March 2021, which earned the company around $250 million in proceeds. Additionally, in June 2022, Tesla sold a significant portion of its remaining BTC holdings at an average price of around $20,000, citing multiple reasons including testing Bitcoin's ability to handle large transactions and securing additional cash reserves. Despite potentially missing out on substantial gains from Bitcoin's continued appreciation, Tesla's current Bitcoin holdings, estimated at less than 10,000 BTC, are valued at around $700 million.