Tesla Bitcoin Balance Steady, But Elon Musk Laser Eyes Say Buy

Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk made headlines this week by updating his profile on X (formerly Twitter). The move came amid an important week for crypto, with all eyes in Nashville, Tennessee, for the Bitcoin 2024 Conference.

The company announced mixed second-quarter (Q2) earnings and revenue late Tuesday. While earnings dropped by over 40%, sales came in above expectations. Nevertheless, Musk remains optimistic about self-driving cars, the Optimus robot, and robotaxi.

Tesla Q2 Earnings Miss, But Bitcoin Stays Firm

According to the Tesla Q2 earnings report, the company did not change its Bitcoin holdings, which are worth approximately $640 million. Crypto proponents were keenly interested in this part of the report before the release.

Fueling the pre-earnings bullishness, Musk made a surprising update on his X profile on Sunday, changing his profile picture to one with laser eyes, a symbol often associated with Bitcoin enthusiasts.

Accordingly, Musk’s adoption of this image and the reaction received highlights his continued influence and engagement in the digital currency space. The profile picture change also caught the eye of Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy and a vocal BTC proponent. Saylor is also famous for his layer eyes, which indicate his support for the pioneer crypto.

“When Elon Musk first endorsed Bitcoin in early 2021 we were on the verge of a bull market. He then famously set a laser eyes profile earlier this year; Bitcoin hit its ATH of over $73,000 within a matter of weeks. While Musk’s reuse of this meme should not be taken as confirmation that another ATH is just around the corner, it is indicative of which way the wind is blowing. Given the growing institutional demand for Bitcoin coupled with the visible support for it from laser-eyed leaders, there’s every reason to be bullish,” Nexo CPO Elitsa Taskova, told BeInCrypto.

Read more: Who Owns the Most Bitcoin in 2024?

Such actions by high-net-worth figures like Musk and Saylor to use laser eyes tend to turn heads. They sway sentiment by inspiring increased interest and activity in the crypto market. Musk’s move reinforces the growing mainstream recognition of Bitcoin by highlighting the significant influence of social media on financial markets.

Some viewed the move as his return to Bitcoin after exiting in 2021. In February of that year, Tesla announced a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin and later revealed that customers could use Bitcoin to purchase Tesla vehicles. However, Tesla only accepted Bitcoin payments for 50 days before reversing the decision, citing concerns over the “increasing use of fossil fuels” in Bitcoin mining and transactions.

In May 2024, Tesla updated its payment systems to include Dogecoin (DOGE) and offered a full FAQ on how this system would work. Among the requirements for anyone purchasing a product on the Tesla shop is a “Dogecoin wallet.”

Elsewhere, the laser eyes sparked speculation that Musk would attend the Bitcoin 2024 Conference on July 25. While his attendance remains unconfirmed, he is already in Memphis, Tennessee, for the training of Grok, an AI developed by xAI.

“If this is a teaser for another big guest announcement, I feel like the only person bigger than Trump that could break the internet at this point is Elon Musk. It would make sense too. He is friends with Trump, loves Bitcoin, and this event is turning out to be the biggest FOMO event in crypto. I am completely speculating but it would be super cool to see Elon come to Nashville,” Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett commented.

Noteworthy, Elon Musk has since resorted to his previous avatar as a profile picture.