According to a statement issued by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday, the company has stopped accepting bitcoin as payment for its cars due to concerns that it would lead to increased use of fossil fuels. In late March, Tesla had just recently begun accepting bitcoin.Tesla's $1.5 billion bitcoin hoard, which Musk bought earlier this year, will no longer be sold, according to Musk.In the first quarter of 2021, Tesla sold some of that bitcoin, which helped boost the company's quarterly profit estimates.According to the announcement, Tesla says it will resume accepting bitcoin (and consider selling more of it) once the mining process “transitions to more renewable energy.” “We are also looking at other cryptocurrencies that use less than 1% of Bitcoin's energy/transaction,” the company says. Tesla's website suggests that it will continue to accept Bitcoin for purchases as of this writing.
“Cryptocurrency is a good concept on many levels, and we believe it has a bright future,” Musk writes, “but it cannot come at the expense of the environment.”
According to one calculation, Bitcoin consumes as much energy as the Netherlands each year. All of the energy has a significant carbon footprint.
“Cryptocurrency is a good concept on many levels, and we believe it has a bright future,” Musk writes, “but it cannot come at the expense of the environment.”
According to one calculation, Bitcoin consumes as much energy as the Netherlands each year. All of the energy has a significant carbon footprint.