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| Tesla bought $1.5 billion Bitcoin |
Elon Musk is a man that speaks his mind on Twitter often, and when the internet is not reading your tweets, it is watching everyday people do crazy things on TikTok. So when the richest man in the world tweets about Bitcoin and Dogecoin, oftentimes, the price of these cryptocurrencies then see a noticeable jump as a direct result of his comments he posts on Twitter.
Elon Musk even went “all in” adding the hashtag #bitcoin to his Twitter biography, and CNBC’s Steve Kovach notes that this move resulted in the jump of bitcoin by 20%. Not only that, Elon Musk then said on the social media site Clubhouse: “I do at this point think bitcoin is a good thing, and I am a supporter of bitcoin.”
“I do at this point think bitcoin is a good thing, and I am a supporter of bitcoin.” Elon Musk said on social media, Clubhouse (December 2020)
Tesla Buying $1.5 Billion Bitcoin is a GameChanger for Crypto
So what happens with a white-hot company like Tesla makes a major investment into bitcoin?
The internet explodes. Figuratively, of course, and the price of bitcoin soars to a new all-time high of $44,200.00 USD (for one bitcoin) in February 2021.
This significant event happened on Monday, February 08, 2021 and was very significant for bitcoin. Tesla announced in an SEC filing that it had purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin, and it would also begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for their products “subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis.” In other words, it is a short-term gimmick to keep Tesla riding a wave of relevancy. But I do give them much credit, because Tesla spends $0 on a marketing budget, yet stays in the news almost every single day.
Investor Michael Burry is not buying the smoke and mirrors. He claims that Tesla buying $1.5 billion into bitcoin is just a distraction so that consumers don’t pay attention to recent regulatory issues Tesla is facing in China stemming from quality issues found in the electric cars (Business Insider India).
It is very possible that Tesla is trying to distract the general public from legitimate issues, but let’s continue with the ruse for a minute.
How much of their cash did Tesla invest into bitcoin?
Steve Kovach of CNBC points out that Tesla had more than $19 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2020, according to public records. Now that Tesla has officially made a significant investment into Bitcoin, the term “double bubble” has come to fruition. (Editor’s Note: I did not come up with this term, but I like it.)
Michael Burry Quote:
“Chinese regulators summon Tesla on quality issues as consumers complain about quality…but $TSLA bought $BTC….In my mind’s eye, so much #digital confetti.” -Michael Burry in since-deleted tweets originally posted on Monday, February 08, 2021
Tesla is Primed to be a Double Bubble for Investors
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| Double bubble |
Why a double bubble?
Because many analysts have long believed that Tesla is significantly overvalued for many reasons, and the exorbitant stock price does not accurately reflect its true value. Not only does the price of Tesla stock continue to increase, but it also recently split five-for-one in August 2020, and continues to increase in price since the split.
Think back to the days of the video arcade, when you would take your dollars or quarters to the coin machine and would feed your real money to this mechanical beast that would give you tokens, with a real-world value of less than $0.01. That’s a pretty good investment, right? Let’s trade real currency with real value for a fake currency with no value, but in order to play video games, this is the cost of fun.
In a less tangible way, there are no real coins with bitcoin. It’s not real, people! It’s more of an investment vehicle, or some may even think of it as a bank account that is subject to the risk of the masses.
Bitcoin is only worth what everyone collectively thinks it's worth. So, just like the stock market, you could find yourself buying in when it is high (i.e. right now), or you could have been one of those lucky early adopters that believed in that “new-fangled” cryptocurrency many years ago. And despite it being around for most of the past decade, it still (i.e. today) has that new car smell. A Tesla smell, actually. Pun intended.
Question: So what’s up with Tesla? Is it still operating on unicorn tears?
Answer: Pretty much…and some credits, too.
In addition to the confusion behind Tesla’s inflated stock price, a perfect happening of events in 2019–2020 made it possible for Tesla to meet the qualifications to join the S&P 500, due to their reporting four consecutive quarters of GAAP profitability. Many skeptics say this was only made possible due to zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits and other environmental credits given to Tesla. It is public knowledge that Tesla sold approximately $594 million in regulatory environmental credits in 2019 and $419 million in 2018.
What’s even more baffling is that people are willing to pay a premium price for an “average” electric car (i.e. Tesla’s current vehicles). I do get that this is a movement. I get it. We are now seeing the car industry shift from gasoline combustion vehicles to more automakers making big moves into electric vehicles.
In the age of the now-famous “stock advising” WallStreetBets forum on Reddit, and the phenomenon of Robinhood investing, just about everyone has access to buy into companies like Tesla. And now when you buy Tesla, you are also buying into bitcoin, whether you like this idea or not. So, if you want to ride the double bubble, this choice is now entirely up to you.
Do you believe that Elon Musk is a visionary and is worth investing in?
Do you think that Elon Musk should be investing Tesla cash into Bitcoin?
Elon Musk Quotes of Caution about Cryptocurrency:
“People should not invest their life savings in cryptocurrency, to be clear -- that's unwise."
"There's a good chance that crypto is the future currency of Earth, and it's like which one's it going to be? Maybe it'll be multiple. It should be considered speculation at this point. So don't go too far with the crypto speculation front."
Investor Takeaway:
Everyday retail investors should be cautious before making any investment and should do their due diligence and research before buying cryptocurrencies or securities. Speak with a trusted financial advisor before investing your money into any stock. A good financial advisor will not advise you to put all of your investment money into one stock.
Sources:
Chakravarti, Ankita. "Bitcoin less dumb form of liquidity than cash, says Tesla CEO Elon Musk." IndiaToday.
Kolodny, Lora. “Tesla’s sale of environmental credits help drive to profitability.” CNBC.
Kovach, Steve. “Tesla buys $1.5 billion in bitcoin, plans to accept it as payment.” CNBC.
Maidenberg, Micah. “On Twitter, Elon Musk Has Mused About Bitcoin.” The Wall Street Journal.
Mohamed, Theron. “‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry calls Tesla’s billion bet on Bitcoin a distraction — and says Dogecoin’s record price signals a massive bubble.” Business Insider India.
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