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Tesla will most likely resume accepting bitcoin as a form of payment once it does its due diligence on the amount of renewable energy used to mine the currency, said founder and CEO of electric car maker Elon Musk. .
Musk pushed the price of bitcoin down in May when he said Tesla would stop accepting cryptocurrency for payment because the so-called coin mining used too much electricity produced from fossil fuels.
But his comments at the B Word virtual conference on Wednesday pushed bitcoin up 8% to $ 32,160.16, while rival cryptocurrency ether jumped 11.6% to 1,993, $ 36.
“I wanted a little more due diligence to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy use is most likely equal to or greater than 50%, and that there is a trend for that number to increase, and if that ‘is the case, Tesla would start accepting bitcoin again, “Musk said.
“The answer is most likely that Tesla would start accepting bitcoin again.”
Using bitcoin to buy Tesla’s electric vehicles had highlighted a dichotomy between Musk’s reputation as an environmentalist and the use of his popularity and stature as one of the wealthiest people. of the world to support cryptocurrencies.
Some Tesla investors, as well as environmentalists, are increasingly critical of how bitcoin is “mined” using large amounts of electricity generated from fossil fuels.
However, more and more digital currency miners are trying to use renewable energy to mitigate the impact on the environment.
“Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy. We can’t be the company that does this and not do proper due diligence on bitcoin’s energy consumption, ”Musk said.
Musk added that he personally owned bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin, with the exception of bitcoin owned by Tesla and SpaceX.
“I could pump, but I’m not vacuuming,” Musk said. “I certainly don’t believe in increasing the price and selling… I would like to see bitcoin succeed.”
Tesla shares were down 0.8% to $ 655.30 in extended trading.
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