Tesla’s bitcoin gambit gave it a $100M boost in the first quarter

Tesla’s foray into the cryptocurrency market made it quite a bit of coin, the company announced.

The electric carmaker’s first-quarter earnings released late Monday revealed that it sold some of the $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin that it purchased in February, giving the company a $101 million bump in profit. That’s no small lump of cash, considering it makes up nearly one-fourth of the company’s $438 million in profit, Tesla’s biggest ever. On a conference call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Zach Kirkhorn elaborated on the company’s interest in the cryptocurrency and said Tesla intends to hold the digital token over the long-term, despite its recent sale. The company still has about $1.3 million in bitcoin.