Tesla holds onto Bitcoin as Musk says time at DOGE to ‘drop significantly’

Tesla has held onto its Bitcoin during the first quarter of 2025 as CEO Elon Musk promised shareholders that he would scale back his time working as the Trump administration’s cost-cutting czar.

Musk’s comment appears to have been the main catalyst behind Tesla’s (TSLA) 5.4% price jump in after-hours trading on April 22 to $250.80 after closing the trading day up 4.6%, according to Google Finance. 

It comes as the automaker’s Q1 results released the same day show revenues hit $19.34 billion, missing Wall Street estimates by 7.85% and marking a 9.2% fall from the same period last year.

Tesla’s net income of $409 million also marked an 80.8% quarter-on-quarter drop and a 70.5% fall from Q1 2024.

Tesla’s digital asset holdings dropped 11.61% in value from $1.076 billion to $951 million in Q1, alongside Bitcoin’s (BTC) 11.56% price fall to $82,514 over the same time, according to CoinGecko data.

A new rule from the Financial Accounting Standards Board allows public companies to report their crypto holdings at market value. Before, only losses were recorded — unless the crypto was sold. 

Tesla’s 11,509 Bitcoin stash is now worth over $1.07 billion as a result of the market rebound over the last week, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data. Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings haven’t changed since June 30, 2022.

Musk to ease up on DOGE duties

In an April 22 earnings call, Musk promised that he would scale back his time working at the Trump administration's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to focus more on Tesla.

“Starting probably next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,” Musk said. 

“I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done.”

Musk said he’ll continue to spend “a day or two per week” on DOGE-related matters for as long as US President Donald Trump needs to ensure the “waste and fraud that we stop does not come roaring back.”

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Tesla’s 5.4% rise in after-hours came on the back of a 4.6% increase to nearly $237 during the April 22 trading day as the broader market clawed back some losses from earlier in the week.

Tesla shares are still down over 37% year-to-date, driven partially by declining sales, Musk’s increased political presence and economic uncertainty stemming from Trump’s tariffs.

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