BITCOIN ON THE BALANCE SHEET.
On 8 February 2021, Tesla filed its 2020 annual report and disclosed an aggregate $1.50 billion investment in bitcoin. The card marks that public disclosure. It does not place the purchases on the filing date or claim a single transaction.
Tesla had changed its investment policy in January 2021, allowing some cash beyond operating needs to enter alternative reserve assets. The bitcoin investment followed that change. January is the policy date in the filing; the precise purchase day is not given.
The Investments disclosure appears in Note 23, Subsequent Events: a development after the 2020 year end. Bitcoin payments were still described as a future plan, subject to applicable laws and initially limited. They were not announced as already available on this date.
In the illustration, the recurring professor reads the filing at a desk inside a night-lit showroom. A warm lamp draws attention to the highlighted asset and amount, while the silver car stays in the background. The goggles, swept-back white hair and familiar face connect him to card 047, carrying a fictional observer into this new scene.
Beside the paperwork, an envelope marked FUTURE holds another visual thread: a small car silhouette recalls card 059. The January tab, Note 23 marker and February receipt invite the reader to distinguish policy, disclosure and imagination. BITCOIN ON THE BALANCE SHEET frames the treasury story; the document, room and character are an illustrated interpretation.
Sources & the artist’s interpretation
Sources: Tesla 2020 Form 10-K, Note 23 ; Tesla investor-relations copy, p. 106 ; SEC filing record, 8 February 2021 . The professor, showroom, envelope and paperwork are stylized fiction. The report and receipt are not authentic facsimiles. The phrase is approved original editorial copy. Brand references imply no endorsement. Artwork approval does not establish rights clearance; rights review remains unresolved.
