Tesla, the electric car maker, reported in its earnings report on Wednesday that it made no changes to its Bitcoin holdings in the first quarter of 2023. The value of digital assets held by Tesla at quarter's end was $184 million, remaining unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2022. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts were surprised that the amount stayed the same despite Bitcoin (BTC) reaching almost $28,500 by the end of the quarter, although due to existing accounting regulations any gains resulting from this appreciation remain invisible in financial reports.

For the first quarter, Tesla shared that it realized adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.85 and revenue of $23.33 billion. In comparison to estimates of $0.86 EPS and $23.37 billion, the actual figures fell short of expectations by a penny and $40 million respectively. Following the announcement, Tesla's stock prices decreased by 4.2% in after-hours trading.

Cryptocurrency watchers have often looked to Tesla to observe how it navigates the complicated world of digital assets. The company's founder Elon Musk has frequently promoted the use of Bitcoin and Dogecoin, publicly expressing support for the idea of decentralized currencies. However, that enthusiasm has never quite been translated into a massive purchase, not yet at least.

For the past three quarters, Tesla has made no changes to its Bitcoin holdings. With the market being highly volatile and risky, Musk issued clear instructions forbidding the company to make any sizeable investments that could endanger financial security. Critics have also noted that due to the rules governing financial reporting, any increase in Bitcoin prices won't show in the company's financials even if the holdings are becoming more and more valuable.

Recent earnings report of Tesla hardly has anything to suggest that the company intends to significantly increase its Bitcoin investments, nor does it show that anything has changed from earlier quarters. However, with the risk of volatility inherent to this market and the cryptocurrency market itself evolving at an incredibly fast pace, no one can say what the future holds.



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