Elon Musk's electric car giant Tesla has moved its entire fortune of 9,720 Bitcoins worth over $760 million to a new unidentified wallet. This significant move, reported by blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence, sparked widespread speculation within the BTC community.
The rationale behind Tesla's recent BTC transfer is unclear at this time. Analysts are debating whether this move signals a sale of its holdings, an acquisition of more BTC, or a possible resumption of payments for Tesla cars. The feature was hinted at in a software update from the company last year. However, no conclusive evidence supporting either of these theories has yet surfaced.
Did Tesla sell Bitcoin?
Ki Yong-joo, CEO of on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, said it is unclear whether Tesla’s actions represent a restructuring of its internal wallets or a prelude to a sale. He pointed out the following: “Tesla has moved Bitcoin to other wallets. It is still unclear whether it is an internal shuffle or a sale. Even if it did sell, the impact would be a little more than half that of the German government. As of today, Their realized profit was $816 million, while Tesla's profit was $515 million.
Similarly, on-chain analytics firm Spot On Chain suggested that the transferred BTC likely moved to a new wallet still under Tesla's control. They highlighted that the wallet had been dormant for two years prior to this activity, highlighting the possibility of periodic internal adjustments.
“Tesla moved all BTC to 7 new wallets 4 hours ago after 2 years of dormancy. Please note that these are likely new wallets belonging to Tesla. “Elon Musk said BTC is his 'safe word' and that he still owns Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin and has no intention of selling them,” the company wrote via X.
Adding context to the speculation, Elon Musk's past statements reflect his complicated relationship with Bitcoin. In December 2020, he called Bitcoin his “safe word,” hinting at his personal affinity for the digital asset. Then, in March 2022, Musk said he still owned his holdings in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, especially as a hedge against high inflation, and had no intention of selling them. Despite these assertions, Musk has also expressed skepticism, once saying, “Bitcoin is almost like fiat currency.”
However, cryptocurrency analyst Fejau doubts the idea that Tesla is preparing to sell its BTC holdings. He argued that it would be illogical for Musk, a supporter of President Donald Trump who is seeking to establish a “strategic Bitcoin stockpile,” to liquidate such assets just before the election. “Why did Elon, a major supporter of the Trump campaign and very pro-crypto, decide to sell his Tesla Bitcoin holdings 30 days before the election? Here's Critical Thinking “is severely lacking,” he argues.
In contrast, WhaleWire CEO Jacob King said that Tesla has been selling BTC in over-the-counter (OTC) transactions, indicating that its holdings may be liquidated. I guessed it. “Tesla just moved a huge amount of Bitcoin worth $760 million in OTC trades. It looks like they're selling on fire,” he said via X.
At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $67,101.
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com
