Tesla Did Not Buy or Sell Any Bitcoin in the Fourth Quarter

Electric car maker Tesla (TSLA) did not buy or sell any bitcoin in the fourth quarter for the second straight quarter, the company reported Wednesday in its latest earnings report.

The value of its digital assets at the end of the quarter was $184 million, down from $218 million at the end of the third quarter due to impairment charges from a decline in bitcoin's price. At the end of the third quarter, the price of bitcoin was slightly under $20,000, while at the end of the fourth quarter it was around $16,500.

Tesla also made no changes to its bitcoin holdings in the third quarter, but in the second quarter the company surprised some investors by selling $936 million worth of bitcoin, or approximately 75% of its total holdings, in order to raise cash due to uncertainty over COVID-19 lockdowns in China. But CEO Elon Musk said at the time the company was open to increasing its bitcoin exposure in the future and that the sale “should not be taken as some verdict on bitcoin."

Overall for the fourth quarter, Tesla reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.19, ahead of the consensus of analyst estimates reported to FactSet of $1.13 a share, on revenue of $24.3 billion, below analyst estimates of $24.7 billion. Shares of Tesla were down 0.3% to $143.95 in after-hours trading Wednesday.

A company call with analysts is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET (21:30 UTC).

UPDATE (Jan. 25, 21:37 UTC): Added additional context and overall earnings numbers.