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Comment by 01100011 | Hacker News Reader

What this tells me is that Tesla has too much cash and doesn't think investing that cash in its main business would produce gains comparable to BTC. Tesla believes in the profitability of BTC more than its own profitability or the profitability of one of Musk's other ventures.

Sure, maybe they want to diversify but that's a hell of a lot of money to throw at such a volatile commodity.

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All large enterprises keep cash reserves. Whether you agree or not, the prevailing thesis behind keeping cash reserves in BTC is not that it will turn a profit, but that it will avoid devaluation like USD.

That's a ridiculous assumption to make. Bitcoin's value comes from speculation, not from anything of value in the real world. The price could tank to $500 tomorrow, because there is no government, no trust, and nothing in the real world backing it up other than hype. In light of this USD devaluation seems like a way less risky alternative.

It is nonetheless the prevailing thesis behind BTC, and many highly-regarded fund managers are starting to allocate serious portions of their reserves to cryptocurrency.

The important thing is how probability of BTC tanking to $500 compares to probability of USD tanking in BTC terms in the next few years.

Historical data hints that we are not close to the peak of the current bubble and when BTC drops it probably won't be lower than today, or at least, not for a long time.

Of course there is also probability that the 12-year trend will crash into zero, but that probability dwindles with every year Bitcoin isn't broken and every popped bubble that lands on an even higher low.

HN is the only place I know where users are this stubborn to keep their head in the sand about Bitcoin. It's been 12 years man. Bitcoin could not tank to $500 tomorrow. It never will. Sorry

> What this tells me is that Tesla has too much cash and doesn't think investing that cash in its main business would produce gains comparable to BTC

In the short term how could it?

Also, isn't a $1.5 billion investment by a big named company (Tesla & Musk of all companies/people) a self-fulfilling prophecy, in that it will assuredly pump BTC prices? A $1.5 billion punt on anything, especially BTC & considering the stock growth/capital raising recently, doesn't seem that wild to me.

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