Bitcoin Drops Below $82K as Tesla Q3 Capex Misses Estimates, KOSPI Slips

Bitcoin fell nearly 3% on Thursday, retreating to around $81,500 after a failed attempt to break above $85,000. The reversal came after Tesla reported Q3 capital expenditure of $4.73 billion, well below the $7.96 billion projected by analysts. BTC/USD gave back all of Wednesday's gains, which had peaked near $84,840 on Bitstamp, and a resistance trend line at that level continues to preserve a pattern of lower highs.

The miss on Tesla's capex raised fresh concerns about the pace of AI investment across corporate America. Tesla posted Q3 revenue of $28.05 billion, narrowly trailing Bloomberg's $28.13 billion estimate, but it was the underspend on infrastructure that drew the market's attention. "Lower capex suggests less of an 'all-in' approach to the AI arms race than one would expect from Elon," Ryan Lee, senior vice president of product and strategy at Direxion, told Reuters. CEO Elon Musk addressed the gap on the earnings call, stating that spending would rise through 2028 and become "noticeable in the tens of billions in '28."

Adding to the risk-off mood, South Korea's tech-heavy KOSPI Composite Index closed down 3.52% on Thursday. The index struggled to sustain a recovery after plunging to 5,460 points last week, its lowest level since late July. The weakness in Asian tech stocks added pressure to crypto markets that had been riding a rally fueled by stronger-than-expected US corporate earnings earlier in the week.

Onchain data showed open interest across crypto trading platforms had climbed to $55.95 billion late Tuesday, a 4.5% 24-hour increase and the highest tally since September. The positioning suggested elevated leverage heading into the reversal, amplifying Bitcoin's downside move as traders reassessed the AI spending outlook and broader risk sentiment.