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Tesla's share price is well off its highs.
In February, Tesla added $1.5 billion in bitcoin to its holdings.
The controversial decision has been blamed for the stock slide — but that's wrong.
What's a hundred billion here and there when you're one of the most valuable companies in the world?
For Tesla, it's notable: the electric carmaker's market capitalization had been surging toward a trillion bucks, but after dropping 13% in the past month, it's now hovering around $700 billion. That's still more than seven times General Motors' market cap, but the downward trend did raise questions.
One of them was, "Is this about bitcoin?" Tesla added $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency to its balance sheet a few weeks ago, just in time for bitcoin to spike in value — and then plunge, as the defiantly unstable asset is wont to do. Tesla might have contributed marginally to the uptick, and the Tesla selloff — which occurred in the context of a broader slide for tech stock — could be interpreted as a kind of bet against bitcoin, with Tesla as the trading vehicle.