Elon Musk’s consideration of a potential merger involving SpaceX, Tesla or artificial intelligence firm xAI has put renewed attention on a lesser-discussed piece of his empire: one of the largest corporate bitcoin holdings in the world.
SpaceX and Tesla together hold nearly 20,000 bitcoin, according to public disclosures, a stash worth roughly $1.7 billion at current prices. That would make the entity the world’s seventh largest BTC holder, just behind CoinDesk-owner Bullish’s 24,300 BTC.
While any deal remains preliminary and could still fall apart, a combination would concentrate that exposure under a single corporate structure at a time when bitcoin prices are once again volatile and investor scrutiny is high.
SpaceX has held bitcoin since early 2021 and currently controls about 8,285 BTC, worth roughly $680 million. Tesla, meanwhile, holds 11,509 BTC, valued near $1 billion, and reported no changes to that position in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The electric vehicle maker booked a $239 million after-tax loss on its digital assets last quarter as bitcoin slid from around $114,000 to the high $80,000s.
A merger would not change bitcoin’s fundamentals, but it would reshape how one of the largest corporate positions is governed, accounted for and potentially financed.
Tesla is a public company subject to fair-value accounting rules, meaning swings in bitcoin prices flow directly through earnings. SpaceX, still private, has so far avoided that kind of quarter-to-quarter visibility.
That difference matters as SpaceX weighs a possible IPO that could value the company near $1.5 trillion. Crypto exposure, even if passive, becomes part of the due diligence process for large institutional investors, some of whom remain cautious about digital assets on corporate balance sheets.
Tesla’s past dealings with bitcoin still loom large. The company disclosed a $1.5 billion purchase in early 2021, sold a portion shortly afterward, then unloaded roughly 75% of its holdings in 2022 near bear-market lows. T
The episode pinned Tesla’s reputation as a high-profile but inconsistent corporate holder, making any renewed focus on Musk-linked bitcoin treasuries more sensitive.
As such, neither company has signaled plans to buy or sell bitcoin as part of the merger discussions, and the holdings represent a small fraction of daily trading volumes.
Still, corporate concentration matters at the margins, particularly as bitcoin’s narrative as a balance-sheet asset faces renewed debate amid gold’s surge and broader risk-off flows.
Whether SpaceX ultimately merges with Tesla, pairs with xAI or stays independent, the talks highlight how bitcoin has quietly become embedded inside some of the world’s most valuable technology firms.
Even when bitcoin isn’t the headline, it remains on the balance sheet — and that alone is enough to keep investors watching.
Source: https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/01/30/spacex-tesla-merger-talks-puts-nearly-20-000-bitcoin-in-focus
