In 2018 investors were concerned about Tesla's significant indebtedness, which at the time totaled around $12.0 billion in outstanding debt. But Tesla was able to turn its cash burn into a cash churn and then used the cash to redeem its highest-paying debt. For example, in 2021 Tesla redeemed $1.8 billion in aggregate principal of the 2025 Notes (7-year bonds issued in August 2017 that paid at 5.3 percent.) As a result, by the end of 2021, Tesla's debt declined to $6.8 billion, while its cash holdings jumped to $17.6 billion! In fact, Tesla's net debt—that is, its total debt minus cash—is negative at -$10.7 billion, which means that Tesla can pay its debt in full and still have more than ten billion dollars left on its balance sheet: more than enough for a significant share buyback.