Elon Musk’s consideration of a possible merger involving SpaceX, Tesla or artificial intelligence firm xAI has put the spotlight back on a less-discussed part of his empire: one of the world’s largest corporate bitcoin holdings.
SpaceX and Tesla together own nearly 20,000 bitcoins, according to public disclosures, a stash worth roughly $1.7 billion at current prices. That would make the entity the seventh-largest BTC holder in the world, 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 again volatile and investor scrutiny is high.
SpaceX has held bitcoins since early 2021 and currently controls around 8,285 BTC, worth approximately $680 million. Meanwhile, Tesla holds 11,509 BTC, valued at nearly $1 billion, and reported no change to that position in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The electric vehicle maker posted a $239 million after-tax loss on its digital assets last quarter as bitcoin fell from around $114,000 to $80,000.
A merger would not change the fundamentals of bitcoin, but it would reshape the way one of the largest corporate holdings is governed, accounted for, and potentially funded.
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 is important as SpaceX weighs a possible IPO that could value the company close to $1.5 trillion. Exposure to cryptocurrencies, even if passive, becomes part of the due diligence process for large institutional investors, some of whom are cautious about digital assets on corporate balance sheets.
Tesla’s past dealings with bitcoin still loom large. The company revealed a $1.5 billion purchase in early 2021, sold a portion shortly afterward, and 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 corporate holder, making any renewed focus on Musk-linked bitcoin treasury bonds more sensitive.
As such, neither company has indicated 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 now that the bitcoin-as-balance-sheet asset narrative faces renewed debate amid gold’s rise and broader flows of risk aversion.
Whether SpaceX eventually merges with Tesla, partners with xAI, or remains independent, the talks highlight how bitcoin has quietly become embedded within some of the world’s most valuable tech companies.
Even when bitcoin is not the holder, it remains on the balance sheet, and that alone is enough to keep investors on their toes.
