Chart Of The Day: Will Tesla Hit $1,000 (And Why Musk Could Be Pushing Bitcoin)

 | Feb 10, 2021 14:39

Bitcoin jumped over 20% on Monday after Tesla’s most recent SEC filings revealed the electric car maker had purchased $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency. The Palo Alto-based EV manufacturer said it had acquired the digital currency for “more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash.”

What that vague, loaded language could actually mean is that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) purchased Bitcoin as both an investment, as well as for added liquidity, since the company said it would accept the alt-currency as a form of payment for its products.

Of course, it may not be a coincidence that recently, Elon Musk has been promoting cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Dogecoin. Now, some are warning that the SEC will investigate Musk’s tweets to his 46 million followers on Twitter, supporting the digital currencies. The Tesla CEO has egged on his followers in 'Reddit Rebellion-like' fashion, with relevant memes as well as by making what seem like pseudo-promotional statements in interviews, such as:

“I think Bitcoin is on the verge of getting broad acceptance by conventional finance people.”

It’s almost as if Musk is flipping the bird at the financial establishment, defying not just the long-held belief that Bitcoin is not a viable investment platform but that it’s most certainly not a store of value and can’t be used as money. Is Musk just a corporate bad-boy who delights in yanking the SEC's chain (as he's done in the past )? Or does he have a separate agenda?

Legendary investor Michael Burry, who shorted the US housing market ahead of the 2008 crash, thinks so. He believes Musk's crypto chatter is nothing more than misdirection. According to Burry , the Tesla CEO is simply diverting the market's attention away from the fact that Chinese regulators are investigating Tesla for customer complaints about quality issues.

Right now, Tesla's Shanghai factory is the only 100% American-owned manufacturing facility in China, a feat pulled off during the US-China trade war. Sales in the Asian nation doubled in the past year, with Sino-based purchases now about one-fifth of Tesla sales.

As all of this plays out, investors in the stock are on hold, waiting for additional developments to signal where shares may be headed next. This indecision is visible on the chart.