Elon Musk’s Tesla reported an $80 million increase in its Bitcoin holdings in the third quarter of 2025, benefiting from the recovery in the crypto market without making any new transactions.
According to Tesla’s third quarter report released on Wednesday, the electric car maker continues to hold 11,509 BTC, worth about $1.31 billion as of September 30, up from $1.23 billion in the second quarter.
This increase is entirely due to the rise in the price of Bitcoin, not additional purchases or sales. Under new fair value accounting rules, Tesla can now report digital assets at current market prices and record cryptocurrency gains and losses on a quarterly basis.
The company has not changed its position since early 2022, when it sold some Bitcoin to “test liquidity” before classifying it as a strategic financial asset.
Beyond cryptocurrencies, Tesla’s results showed mixed signals. Although sales were $25.18 billion, higher than last year, net income was down 37% year over year to $1.37 billion ($0.39 per share) as operating costs increased by 50% due to increased R&D and AI spending.
Elon Musk recently spoke about Bitcoin publicly for the first time in three years, commenting on a post by
Musk agreed, saying Bitcoin is energy-based and pointing out that while fiat currency can be counterfeited, energy cannot be counterfeited.
According to BitcoinTreasuries.net, Tesla remains the 11th largest corporate Bitcoin holder behind Strategy, Galaxy Digital, Block, Coinbase and others.
Elon Musk and the history of Bitcoin
Tesla famously purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in early 2021 and announced plans to accept BTC as payment for its vehicles.
Back in 2021, Musk said, “I think Bitcoin is a good thing. I’m a supporter of Bitcoin. I’m late to the party, but I’m a supporter. I think Bitcoin is on the verge of being widely accepted by the traditional financial community.”
But within a few months, Musk reversed course, citing environmental concerns over Bitcoin mining’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels.
“Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin,” he said at the time, adding that payments would resume once mining used “more sustainable energy.” In mid-2022, Tesla sold about 75% of its Bitcoin holdings, near the bottom of the market decline.
As of this writing, Tesla (TSLA) is trading at $434.33 per share. The stock price has increased about 75% in the past six months.
