Elon Musk: ‘You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin’
Tesla chief Elon Musk has just revealed his electric vehicles can now be bought using Bitcoin.
The tech billionaire announced the news this morning with a simple tweet which read “You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin”.
Only weeks ago, the 18-year-old motor manufacturer moved $1.5 billion of its value into Bitcoin, as entrepreneur Musk repeatedly broadcast his admiration for the original cryptocurrency alongside shows of faith for altcoin Doge.
Currently, it appears Tesla cars can only be purchased with BTC in the US, but plans are afoot to expand use of the ‘borderless’ payment method across the globe.
The 49-year-old South African stressed that any Bitcoin used to purchase a vehicle would remain held as BTC, and not be put into the company’s cash columns.
“Tesla is using only internal and open-source software and operates Bitcoin nodes directly,” he added.
“Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency.
“Pay by Bitcoin capability available outside US later this year.”
Earlier this year, critics accused Musk of manipulating the price of Bitcoin and Doge through his social media posts. The price of Bitcoin increased significantly when he briefly changed his Twitter bio to “Bitcoin”.
Recently, during a Clubhouse broadcast, Musk reiterated his support for cryptocurrency after being urged to become involved by friends.
“I am late to the party but a supporter – I think Bitcoin is on the verge of getting broad acceptance by conventional finance people,” he said.
“Many friends of mine have tried to convince me to get involved in Bitcoin for a long time.
“In retrospect, it was inevitable.”
The news, meanwhile, has been hailed as a possible driver for a return to the upside for cryptocurrency markets which had started started to dip in the aftermath of an all-time-high for Bitcoin.
Simon Peters, cryptoasset analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro, the move demonstrated a huge amount of support for Bitcoin and would likely boost its price.
“Tesla’s decision to both accept payment for its cars in Bitcoin and hold that Bitcoin on its balance sheet rather than convert it to dollars will likely build more momentum for the cryptoasset,” he said.
“Tesla and other companies are showing that crypto is here to stay, and its mainstream adoption is only going to increase – eToro itself bought Bitcoin for its balance sheet over a decade ago when it was valued at just $5.
“In terms of market dynamics, as more companies hold Bitcoin on their balance sheet, so the finite supply is depleted even more, and this is likely to cause a supply-side squeeze and boost prices over the longer-term.”