Elon Musk’s musings on a potential merger involving SpaceX, Tesla or artificial intelligence firm xAI have put renewed attention on a less-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 about $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 tentative and could still fall apart, a combination would concentrate that exposure under a single corporate structure at a time when bitcoin prices are again volatile and investor scrutiny is high.
SpaceX has held bitcoin since early 2021 and currently controls about 8,285 BTC, worth about $680 million. Tesla, meanwhile, has 11,509 BTC worth nearly $1 billion and reported no changes to this position in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The electric car maker posted a $239 million after-tax loss on its digital assets last quarter as bitcoin fell from around $114,000 to the high $80,000s.
A merger wouldn’t change bitcoin’s fundamentals, but it would reshape how one of the largest corporate positions is managed, processed and potentially financed.
Tesla is a public company subject to fair value accounting rules, which means fluctuations 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 close to $1.5 trillion. Crypto exposure, even if passive, is becoming part of the due diligence process for large institutional investors, some of whom remain wary of digital assets on corporate balance sheets.
Tesla’s past dealings with bitcoin still loom large. The company disclosed a $1.5 billion buy in early 2021, sold some soon after, then unloaded about 75% of its holdings in 2022 near bear market lows. T
The episode cemented Tesla’s reputation as a high-profile but inconsistent business owner, making any renewed focus on Musk-linked bitcoin coffers 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 volume.
Still, corporate concentration matters at the margins, especially as bitcoin’s narrative as a balance sheet asset faces renewed debate amid gold’s rise and broader risk flows.
Whether SpaceX ultimately merges with Tesla, pairs with xAI or remains independent, the talks highlight how bitcoin has quietly become integrated into some of the world’s most valuable tech companies.
Even when bitcoin isn’t the headline, it remains on the balance sheet — and that alone is enough to keep investors watching.
