- Bitcoin’s price has outperformed Tesla’s stock over the past five years, rising 1,180% compared to Tesla’s 806% increase.
- Tesla sold around 75% of its Bitcoin holdings in Q2 2022, missing out on potential profits of over $1.27 billion based on current BTC prices.
- The approval of 10 U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs this year is cited as the main reason behind Bitcoin’s 60% price rise so far in 2023.
Bitcoin’s price has finally outperformed Tesla’s stock (TSLA) over the past five years in percentage terms. The electronic vehicle manufacturer has also missed out on a potential $127 billion in profit after selling a big chunk of its BTC holdings in 2022.
BTC Overtakes TSLA in Long-Term Gains
Over the past five years, Bitcoin‘s price has risen over 1,180% while Tesla‘s stock price has risen over 806%, according to TradingView data.
Looking at smaller time horizons, Bitcoin’s returns have outperformed TSLA over the past year in particular. Bitcoin rose 139% while Tesla fell over 11% over the past 12 months, while year-to-date BTC is up 49% while Tesla’s stock price is down 42%.
Bitcoin ETFs are the Main Reason Why BTC is Winning
The approval of the ten United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) was the main reason behind BTC price rising 60% so far this year, according to Andrey Stoychev, the head of prime brokerage at Nexo. He told Cointelegraph:
“US spot Bitcoin ETFs’ role in elevating Bitcoin to a genuine asset class has been invaluable, with pleasing trading volumes and capital flows since launch.”
The ten Bitcoin ETFs amassed over 835,000 BTC in cumulative on-chain holdings worth over $551 billion, according to Dune.
Tesla’s BTC Holdings
Tesla was among the first publicly traded companies to invest in Bitcoin back in February 2021 when the company bought over $1.5 billion worth of BTC (around the $36,000 mark).
However, Tesla sold around 10% of its holdings in March 2021. Then the company sold approximately 75% of its Bitcoin reserves in the second quarter of 2022.
Had Tesla not sold, it would have made over $127 billion in profit, up over 84% on its initial investment at current price levels.
Tesla currently holds 115,509 BTC worth over $766 million with Coinbase Prime Custody, according to Arkham Intelligence.
