Tesla stops selling electric vehicles for bitcoins

05/13/2021

Bitcoin has been discontinued as a means of payment due to the unsustainable method of obtaining it.cryptocurrencies, Elon Musk explained. The decision of the head of Tesla brought down the bitcoin rate.

American electric vehicle manufacturer Teslahas suspended accepting bitcoins as a means of payment due to the unsustainable method of obtaining this cryptocurrency. “Tesla has suspended purchasing vehicles using Bitcoin. We are concerned about the rapidly growing use of fossil fuels, especially coal, which has the worst emissions, for mining and Bitcoin operations,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained his decision in his Twitter microblog on the evening of Wednesday, May 12.

According to Musk, “cryptocurrency is a good idea formany levels ”with a“ promising future ”, but the company cannot afford to harm the environment. In this regard, Tesla will also not sell bitcoins and use them for operations until the mining of cryptocurrency is carried out using "sustainable energy sources", the businessman added.

Bitcoin price fell amid Tesla's announcementby more than 15 percent to $46.2 thousand, according to data from the CoinDesk portal. By 3:45 Moscow time the rate had risen to $50 thousand per coin. At 8:15 Moscow time, according to Coinmarketcap, $50,848 was offered for one bitcoin on exchanges, which was 11.43% lower than the day before.

The new Bitcoin collapse occurred against the backdrop of alreadya noticeably declining rate of this and other cryptocurrencies due to sharp criticism regarding the high energy consumption for mining - the process of extracting electronic money, cryptocurrency, using calculations on special computers that are connected by a network, a blockchain.

Selling for bitcoins

Tesla has authorized the sale of electric vehicles forbitcoins on March 24. This payment method became available only to customers in the United States, in other countries it was planned to introduce it later this year. Musk noted that the company will not convert the received cryptocurrency into fiat money.

In early February, Tesla bought $1.5 worth of bitcoinsbillion. The company said that it invested in this cryptocurrency for the sake of “greater flexibility in further diversification and increased cash flow returns.” Musk later called this decision reckless. Tesla's actions don't directly reflect his views, he said, but Bitcoin is "simply a less stupid form of liquidity than cash savings."