Buy Teslas with bitcoin, says Elon Musk

Bengaluru — Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that the company’s electric vehicles (EVs) can now be bought using bitcoin and the option will be available outside the US later this year.

“You can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin,” he tweeted on Wednesday, adding that bitcoin paid to Tesla will not be converted into conventional currency.

In February, the EV maker said it had bought $1.5bn of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment for cars, sending the price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency soaring.

Musk, who has been promoting cryptocurrencies on his Twitter account, has criticised conventional cash, saying when it “has negative real interest, only a fool wouldn’t look elsewhere”.

He had said the difference with cash made it “adventurous enough” for the S&P 500 company to hold the cryptocurrency.

After Tesla’s investment in bitcoin, several companies, including Uber Technologies and Twitter, shared their views on the cryptocurrency. 

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the ride-hailing company discussed and “quickly dismissed” the idea of investing in bitcoin. However, he added that Uber could potentially accept the cryptocurrency as payment.

Twitter had said earlier it was still undecided about holding bitcoin, while General Motors said it will evaluate whether bitcoin can be accepted as payment for its vehicles.

Tesla recently added “Technoking of Tesla” to Musk’s list of official titles.

Reuters