Tesla Invests $1.5 Billion in Bitcoin: Price Rallies

Tesla, the car manufacturing company co-founded and led by billionaire Elon Musk, bought the equivalent of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin as it prepares to accept it as a payment method, likely causing the coin’s value to spike.

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, the company is looking to maximize returns by investing cash that is not required for its immediate operation, having adjusted its investment policy earlier in January.

The updated investment policy allows the company to invest in “alternative reserve assets” to have more flexibility when it comes to diversifying its investments. The policies specify certain assets and include bitcoin, which the company decided to add to its portfolio.

The filing also states that Tesla is expecting to accept bitcoin as a form of payment “in the near future”, which the company could decide to liquidate or not upon receipt. This is unlikely as Tesla also manifested its intention to hold bitcoin on the long-term

While bitcoin would initially only be accepted by the company on a limited basis for payment for its products, there seems to be an intention to allow the general public to pay using the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin’s Value Jumps 17%

The news about Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin resulted in the cryptocurrency experiencing a steep spike of 17% that saw it reach its new all-time high of $43233, breaking it some hours later to reach a current price of around $46k.

Tesla’s decision to actively invest in Bitcoin represents a vote of trust from one of the most important electric vehicles and clean energy companies in the world, which has greatly increase the legitimacy of the cryptocurrency.

The possibility of Tesla enabling the use of Bitcoin as a payment method would also play an important role in increasing the visibility of cryptocurrency and boosting mainstream adoption.

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, referred to the potential of Tesla’s move to transform the crypto ecosystem by Tweeting:

“Tesla $TSLA has de-risked the acquisition of #bitcoin by public companies and accelerated the digital transformation of corporate balance sheets. Treasurers are now thinking about how to convert a non-performing asset into the best performing asset.”

As one of the most influential companies in the market, it is safe to say that many companies will follow Tesla’s example by investing in cryptocurrencies, as well as adding the possibility of consumers paying with cryptocurrencies.

Elon Musk Continues Flirting with Crypto

While Elon Musk has Tweet repeatedly about cryptocurrency in the past years, in recent weeks he has shown an increasing interest while playing an important role in Dogecoin’s recent bull run, which has seen its value increase by 697.8% over the past month.

Back on January 29, Mr. Musk. updated its Twitter bio to “#Bitcoin”, a move that now is being seen as an indication of Tesla’s latest filing. According to Forbes, the billionaire said in a Clubhouse chat room that he was “late to the party but a supporter” and that he thinks the cryptocurrency is a “good thing”.

Musk has repeatedly shown the influence he has in the market when endorsing a project, which is not surprising as he is the richest man in the world and has an enormous audience in social media, a move that usually results in massive gains in value and popularity.

This power has seen when Mr. Musk endorsed the now-popular messaging app Signal, which resulted in the app gaining popularity as people looked for alternatives for Whatsapp. While Musk didn’t tag any company, many of its followers were quick to invest in “Signal Advance”, increasing the value of its stocks without being related to the app.

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