(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. sold a significant chunk of its stake in Bitcoin, an investment that helped legitimize the world’s largest electronic currency.
“As of the end of Q2, we have converted approximately 75% of our Bitcoin purchases into fiat currency,” Tesla said in a shareholder letter Wednesday as part of the company’s earnings report. “Conversions in Q2 added $936M of cash to our balance sheet.”
The electric-car manufacturer disclosed in February 2021 that it had invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, and subsequently sold 10% of its stake that April. Tesla said Wednesday its digital assets have shrunk to $218 million, and that a Bitcoin impairment hurt second-quarter profitability.
Bitcoin has retreated from a record high of almost $69,000 in November but rallied earlier this week.
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Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has become a huge influencer in cryptocurrency. He has tweeted favorably about Dogecoin as an alternative and posted photos of his dog Floki, which like the Dogecoin mascot is a Shiba Inu. When Tesla held a massive party for its new Austin factory in April, a drone show featured a Dogecoin image.
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