Elon Musk gambles big on bitcoin to keep Tesla going strong

Elon Musk has managed to turn in a profitable year for Tesla but he faces challenges in sustaining that financial growth, says David Kuo.

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SINGAPORE: In February 2021, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said the company had bought US$1.5 billion worth of bitcoins.

It also announced that Tesla would start accepting bitcoins as a form of payment for its products soon.

Tesla has done nothing wrong buying bitcoins. Unconventional, perhaps. But not illegal. Thing is, Tesla had already updated investors of its revised investment policy a month earlier.

In its annual report for last year, the company said, going forward, investing in alternative reserve assets could provide it with more flexibility to further diversify and maximise returns on cash not required to for day-to-day use.

Nevertheless, Tesla’s revelation still raised eyebrows, given that its bitcoins holdings grew to represent around an eighth of the company’s US$19 billion cash pile.

The question is whether the move to place its faith in bitcoins is an investment masterstroke or has Elon Musk put Tesla shareholders in danger by risking company funds?

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