Can you really buy Tesla vehicles using Bitcoin? Elon Musk says so

By Alma Fabiani

Updated Sep 3, 2021 at 11:13 AM

Reading time: 1 minute

16129

This morning, on Wednesday 24 March, CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk announced in a tweet that “You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin.” Billionaire Musk further added that bitcoin would be accepted in the US and “will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency.” The option will be available outside the US later this year. Bitcoin was up 3 per cent against the dollar to $55,444.21 (BTC-USD) shortly after Musk’s tweet was posted. How would this work exactly?

Last month, the electric-car maker had said it bought $1.5 billion worth 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 through his Twitter account, had last month criticised conventional cash, saying when it “has negative real interest, only a fool wouldn’t look elsewhere.”

According to Yahoo Finance, the investment had since drawn scrutiny over its environmental impact. But that didn’t stop Musk. Bitcoin has rallied more than 400 per cent over the last six months thanks to growing support from institutional investors and major tech players such as Tesla. Square, Jack Dorsey’s payments company, has invested over $200 million in the cryptocurrency. Uber and Twitter also shared their views on the cryptocurrency.

Uber’s Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the company discussed and “quickly dismissed” the idea of investing in bitcoin. However, he added that Uber could potentially accept the cryptocurrency as payment. And just in case if you haven’t bought bitcoin or any other crypto till now, The Money Mongers recently released the list of safe and easy-to-use crypto exchanges for the Australian region.

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

The price surge has helped bitcoin repeatedly reach new all-time highs in recent months. Musk—who recently changed his official title at Tesla to “technoking”—has long been an advocate of digital currencies. As well as bitcoin, he has provided price support to meme crypto doge coin this year by tweeting about it.

In February 2021, Mastercard disclosed plans to support cryptocurrency payments across its network. Around the same time, it was reported that very soon, Google Pay and Samsung Pay would also accept payments made with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. There are many more potential use cases for crypto, and we expect these to expand rapidly in the coming year.

Keep On Reading

By Charlie Sawyer

The 3 wildest fan theories about Severance season 2

By Abby Amoakuh

Francesca Farago reveals that influencers are being paid to participate in trend mocking Hailey Bieber

By Abby Amoakuh

Why Gen Z are cancelling Call Her Daddy following Amy Schumer’s controversial appearance

By Abby Amoakuh

Lewis Hamilton and Sharon Stone support Millie Bobby Brown after she calls out disgusting media misogyny

By Abby Amoakuh

BLACKPINK’s Lisa faces backlash after wearing civil rights icon Rosa Parks on her crotch at Met Gala

By Charlie Sawyer

Here’s why the internet is convinced that Trisha Paytas’ third baby will be the reincarnation of Pope Francis

By J'Nae Phillips

The goth girl glow-up: How Jenna Ortega’s helping Gen Z rethink this dark aesthetic

By Abby Amoakuh

A femicide crisis is silently unfolding in Germany. We asked experts to weigh in on the reasons why

By Abby Amoakuh

Are Bhad Bhabie and Alabama Barker feuding? 2025’s hottest rap beef explained

By Charlie Sawyer

These TikTok theories are going viral despite Hannah Kobayashi’s sighting in Mexico

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Elon Musk’s grandfather’s far-right ties: Exploring the roots of the billionaire’s radical beliefs

By Abby Amoakuh

From Grimes to Jenna Ortega, why are we still asking women to answer for the bad behaviour of men in their lives?

By Charlie Sawyer

Australian actor Joseph Zada cast as Haymitch Abernathy in upcoming Hunger Games prequel

By Charlie Sawyer

UK government’s new murder prediction tool draws comparison to Tom Cruise film, Minority Report

By Charlie Sawyer

Jenna Ortega’s 2025 film Death of a Unicorn: plot, cast, and everything we know so far

By Charlie Sawyer

Why are people so upset about JoJo Siwa’s $900 Dream VIP package on her upcoming tour?

By Abby Amoakuh

Pregnant women in the US more likely to die from murder than complications, cancer, or accidents

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Are Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins feuding? Fans freak out after The White Lotus co-stars unfollow each other

By Abby Amoakuh

Love Is Blind forced to classify contestants as employees entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay

By Abby Amoakuh

Lavender marriages are going viral right now as Gen Z throws in the towel on modern dating