For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – February 9, 2021 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Features:Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Inc. TSLA.
The Tesla Bitcoin Investment: Important to Cryptocurrencies
Shares or Tesla and Bitcoin are both rallying on Monday after the electric automaker filed a 10K with the SEC disclosing that they had amassed a $1.5 billion USD worth of the cryptocurrency.
TSLA shares moved up between 1-2% on the news while Bitcoin gained almost 15% to a new all-time high of $44,116. Tesla also stated that they had plans to accept Bitcoin as payment for their products - and in many ways, that’s the more significant development.
As of the end of 2020, Tesla had about $20 billion in cash and equivalents on the balance sheet, so the Bitcoin purchase represents less than 10% of Tesla’s available cash reserves. Tesla’s cost basis for the purchase was not disclosed, but the company did enjoy gains of over $200 million on the position on Monday alone.
For reference, Tesla earned net profits of approximately $270 million in the 4th quarter of 2020.
While the news is a significant development for Tesla, it’s probably bigger news for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency markets as a whole. Adoption as a transactional currency by a company as large and well-known as Tesla is likely to further the case for crypto as a legitimate medium of exchange.
Even more important will be the way Tesla prices its offerings. Until now, e-commerce sites that accepted Bitcoin as payment still priced their offerings in dollars (or other government-backed currencies) and made sales based on the immediate exchange rate. Because Bitcoin prices move thousands of dollars at a clip, its very difficult for companies who pay their expenses and measure results in dollars to hedge currency risk.
(Thanks to trillions in international trade and stable and predictable interest rate policies from central banks, currency pairs like USD/GBP or USD/CNY trade in enormous volumes and daily moves are generally measured in fractions of a cent.)
The “value” of any unit of currency is the amount of goods and services a holder can trade it for. If Tesla were to price automobiles in terms of Bitcoin – as well as dollars, Pounds, Euros or Yuan – it might have the effect of stabilizing the exchange rate of Bitcoin versus traditional currency. In a roundabout way, the move would make Tesla something of a de facto crypto exchange agent.
That stabilization effect would only grow if other manufacturers of big ticket durable goods followed suit and began to accept Bitcoin as payment.
Investors in most companies might not be pleased to see the CEO change course so rapidly instead of focusing on core businesses, but Musk gets a lot more latitude from Tesla shareholders – primarily because of his huge success at innovation in the past.
It remains to be seen whether his latest move has lasting impact on the crypto markets or is simply an interesting news item, but when Elon Musk is involved, you know almost anything is possible.
Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, it’s expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity.
A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 1990s. Zacks’ just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time. See 8 breakthrough stocks now>>
Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ZacksResearch
Join us on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB): https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research