---
title: "Elon Musk Implies Tesla Is Selling Its Bitcoin, Causing Huge Price Drop, Then Says Actually It’s Not"
description: "\"To clarify speculation, Tesla has not sold any Bitcoin,\" Musk corrected himself in a early Monday morning tweet. But Bitcoin dropped in value anyways."
date: "2021-05-17"
modified: "2021-05-17"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-tesla-bitcoin-reverse"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Bitcoin"
  - "Blockchain"
  - "Cryptocurrency"
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Tesla"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "cryptocurrencies"
  - "elon musk"
  - "the digest"
---

# Elon Musk Implies Tesla Is Selling Its Bitcoin, Causing Huge Price Drop, Then Says Actually It’s Not

!["To clarify speculation, Tesla has not sold any Bitcoin," Musk corrected himself in a early Monday morning tweet. But Bitcoin dropped in value anyways.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/elon-musk-tweets-bitcoin-drop.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="http://www.quotecatalog.com/" target="\_blank"\>Stock Catalog\</a\>\</em\>*

## Damage is Done

The damage was already done.

Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk replied "indeed" to a tweet suggesting that Tesla had sold — or was planning to sell — its considerable Bitcoin holdings.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/elon1.png>)

The tweet, just one word long, had a devastating effect on the cryptocurrency, with the value of Bitcoin dropping below $45,000 for the first time in almost three months, as [*Bloomberg* reports](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-16/musk-implies-tesla-may-sell-or-has-sold-bitcoin-holdings?sref=YfHlo0rL>) — the latest example of the billionaire's substantial influence on the already volatile cryptocurrency market.

Hours later, though, Musk seemed to reverse his position, saying that Tesla hadn't sold any Bitcoin. He fell short, though, of saying it wouldn't sell in the future.

It remains unclear what part of the tweet Musk was responding to when he tweeted "indeed."

"To clarify speculation, Tesla has not sold any Bitcoin," Musk [said in](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1394170030741413888>) the followup tweet.

Bitcoin did recover slightly, trading at $44,680 up from a low of under $43,000 following his early Monday tweet, as [*CNBC* reports](<https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/elon-musk-suggests-tesla-is-dumping-bitcoin.html>).

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/elon2.png>)

## Speculation

The CEO has repeatedly flip flopped on his position on the cryptocurrency market. On one hand, he has [shown plenty of enthusiasm](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-dogecoin-devs>) for the joke-but-not-a-joke alternative cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

But his car company's relationship with the far more mainstream currency Bitcoin has been complicated, to say the least.

Tesla started accepting Bitcoin [as payment](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/buy-tesla-bitcoin>) for electric vehicles in March. Just two months later, Musk [released a statement](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1392602041025843203>) saying that Tesla is "concerned abut rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel," suspending "vehicle purchases using Bitcoin."

Tesla's positioning on Bitcoin has sent the token for a rollercoaster ride — and this morning's tweet is just the latest chapter in that saga.

It's up to Musk now to make up his mind on the matter.

**READ MORE:** [Elon Musk clarifies that ‘Tesla has not sold any Bitcoin’](<https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/elon-musk-suggests-tesla-is-dumping-bitcoin.html>) \[*CNBC*\]

**More on Elon Musk:** *[Dogecoin Creator Said Elon Musk Is a “Self-Absorbed Grifter”](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/dogecoin-creator-elon-musk-self-absorbed-grifter>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)