Tesla said last month that it had cash and
cash equivalents of $19.4 billion after selling
new shares to take advantage of a rising
stock price. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities
said the move gives Tesla “more flexibility to
further diversify and maximize returns on
its cash.”
Tesla is in a unique position to accept digital
currencies for payment, since the automaker
does not rely on a network of independently
owned dealerships to sell its vehicles unlike
traditional car companies such as General
Motors and Ford.
“It certainly seems that beyond embracing it
as a store of value for his own trust or his own
assets, it does appear that (Musk is) embracing
it as a transactional tool as well,” said Michael
Venuto, co-portfolio manager of the Amplify
Transformational Data Sharing fund, an
exchange-traded fund that tries to invest in
digital currency technologies.
Venuto’s fund holds a small amount of Bitcoin
but mostly invests in companies that build
around such technologies.
Even with Tesla’s support, it could take some
time before those who’ve made money
investing in Bitcoin to use it to buy a car.
Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights
at Edmunds.com, doesn’t expect it to become
commonplace because most people take loans
to buy their vehicles or lease them and don’t
pay in cash, said Plus, most people at present
would not be comfortable taking a risk with
cryptocurrency on such an expensive purchase,
she said.