According to CNBC, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed late Tuesday that Tesla vehicles can now be purchased with bitcoin in the USA.
Tesla acquired major stakes in bitcoin earlier this year, acquiring a $1.5 billion interest in the early February price. At that time it was also aware that it could potentially recognize cryptocurrency as a consumer payment in respect of its automobiles in an SEC filing reporting a sale. Elon Musk claims that they have made this a possibility, at least for US consumers, and he adds that the idea is for the car manufacturer to pay all the payments from their side by bitcoin too.
Tesla is not dependent on any third-party networks or wallets to receive bitcoin payments; instead, it is “using only internal & open source tools & runs Bitcoin nodes directly,” Musk said on Twitter. Customers who transact in bitcoin will not be transformed to fiat money, according to the CEO, but will likely be added to the company’s stockpile.
When Tesla announced its bitcoin acquisition in February, analysts either praised the company’s innovative strategy to converting its cash reserves or chastised the plan for its reliance on an asset with considerable market uncertainty. Many people have also pointed out that the environmental impact of mining bitcoin seems to be at odds with Tesla’s overall stated goal, considering the company’s carbon footprint. Today, commenters reiterated these fears, pointing out the hypocrisy of Tesla embracing the grid-taxing cryptocurrency in exchange for its all-electric vehicles.
Tesla explained that in a FAQ on the bitcoin payment procedure operates today. Customers would start their own Bitcoin wallet transfer procedure and must set the exact deposit sum on the basis of market prices in US dollars. The price of Tesla cars is already fixed. The car manufacturer states further that the consumer is aware of any difference in value in relation to the US dollar from the period of the transaction to the time of return in the event that there are any refunds.
Musk further added that by “later this year,” the plan is to extend bitcoin transfers to non-US nations. It may take legislative work depending on the market, but Musk obviously thinks this is worth the effort. However, bitcoin climbed a little on this news.
