‘You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin’: Company’s ‘Technoking’

Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk said on Wednesday the company’s electric vehicles can now be bought using Bitcoin in the United States and the option will be extended to other countries 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. Tesla recently added “Technoking of Tesla” to Musk’s list of official titles.

The electric-car maker had last month said it 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.

You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2021

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

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

Following Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin, several companies, including ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc and Twitter Inc shared their views on the cryptocurrency.

Uber Chief Executive 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 in holding Bitcoin, while General Motors Co said it will evaluate whether Bitcoin can be accepted as payment for its vehicles.

In addition to lending increased legitimacy to electronic currencies, Musk’s embrace of Bitcoin fits his maverick image. The billionaire has often tweeted about cryptocurrency-related topics and recently called Bitcoin “a good thing” in an interview.

Dogecoin, the once tongue-in-cheek digital currency, also soared to records in February after Musk, rapper Snoop Dogg and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons tweeted about it.