Tesla's bitcoin investment reportedly made more profit this year than car sales in the whole of 2020

<p><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5fa5bab1f7d1cb0019e3a54c-2400/2020-03-13T013113Z_1573684471_RC2PIF9I0Y2U_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-BITCOIN.JPG" border="0" alt="bitcoin" data-mce-source="Dado Ruvic/Reuters" data-link="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all'id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2020%3Anewsml_RC2PIF9I0Y2U%3A1573684471&amp;search=all%3Abitcoin"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Tesla's $1.5 billion bitcoin investment didn't just make headlines, it has also made the company more profit than its car sales last year, according to a <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tesla-makes-more-money-on-bitcoin-than-on-cars-5sfl6qd0h">Times of London</a> report.</p><p>On Friday, the cryptocurrency smashed through the $55,000 level, bringing its market cap above $1 trillion. This means if Tesla owns the same amount of Bitcoin as it did on January 31, it made a paper profit of about $930 million since January. That's almost 30% more than its $721 million revenue from electric vehicles.</p><p>Bitcoin's historic rally has been a source of debate across the investing community, with many concerned that its 546% year-on-year gains (according to CoinDesk data) might have created a bubble and UBS flagging that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-bubble-ubs-cryptocurrency-could-become-worthless-volatility-not-currency-2021-2'r=US&amp;IR=T">the asset could be 'worthless'</a>.</p><p>However, Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, defended the investment. "Having some Bitcoin, which is simply a less dumb form of liquidity than cash, is adventurous enough for an S&amp;P500 company," Musk <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1362598034866118658" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> on Thursday, responding to a <a href="https://twitter.com/business/status/1362582677199622145" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg interview</a>&nbsp;with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.</p><p>Tesla's original bitcoin investment was disclosed in its annual 10-k filing on February 8, showing that it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in January. The company also announced that it plans to begin accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment in the near future.</p><p>Tesla shares rose 2% on the news, with bitcoin also hitting then record highs of $44,795.20.</p><p>Despite JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon calling it a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/12/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-raises-flag-on-trading-revenue-sees-20-percent-fall-for-the-third-quarter.html" data-analytics-module="body_link" data-analytics-post-depth="40" data-uri="c588e701486d250b0b4710f4de0b26da">"bit of a fraud"</a> in 2017, institutional investors are starting to take note of the cryptocurrency. Even JPMorgan is now touting a case for <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/news/bitcoin-could-rally-to-$146k-as-it-competes-with-gold-for-alternative-currency-status---jpmorgan-9665657" data-analytics-module="body_link" data-analytics-post-depth="40" data-uri="b14ed595b25765ddd1c30c984fab91f6">the price of bitcoin hitting $146,000,</a> but a recent note published by the firm did suggest that Bitcoin was worth only $25,000 with such high levels of current volatility.</p><p>Even BNY Mellon, America's oldest bank, has started to dabble in Bitcoin, the <a href="https://www-wsj-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/bitcoin-to-come-to-america-s-oldest-bank-bny-mellon-11613044810">WSJ reported.</a></p><p>All eyes are now watching for the next institutional to invest in the cryptocurrency.</p><p>"If you are a company CEO and thinking about adding <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin'src=hashtag_click" data-focusable="true">#Bitcoin</a> to your balance sheet you still have the opportunity to be an early adopter. But not for long," Tyler Winklevoss <a href="https://twitter.com/cameron/status/1358785128638644224">tweeted</a>, billionaire and co-founder of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-investing-winklevoss-gemini-bitcoin-stable-coins-regulation-ethereum-fincen-2021-1">crypto-exchange Gemini</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-bitcoin-gains-bigger-than-car-sale-revenue-report-2021-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/candy-corn-ingredients-made-of-gelatin-lac-resin-halloween-sugar-syrup-2017-10">What candy corn is actually made of</a></p>
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