Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, announced on Twitter that bitcoin is now accepted as a means of payment.
The known crypto enthusiast tweeted out: “You can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin.”
The tweet went viral immediately, with over 15,000 retweets in a matter of minutes.
So far, these payments are only available in the United States but will be available in more countries later in the year.
The most basic Model S costs $78,490, meaning even for the cheapest option you’ll pay a little over 1 BTC as the current price sits at $55,149.
Tesla Payments to Stay in Bitcoin
While it may seem like a gimmick, as payment in bitcoin often just means exchanging to fiat on the other end, Musk is adamant that this won’t be the case with Tesla.
“Tesla is using only internal & open source software & operates bitcoin nodes directly,” he elaborated. “bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency.”
This is a serious commitment as it means Tesla will be paid the correct amount initially. However, should the market dip or even crash these payments will be worthless.
However, since Tesla has already bought bitcoin these will likely act more as increased bitcoin investments for the company.
Tesla’s big $1.5 billion investment in bitcoin earlier in the year has already had some knock-on effects for the company. Analysts have noted that its share price is already linked to the BTC price.
Musk Sticks to Pro-Bitcoin Stance
This move by Musk’s company is unsurprising. He has been incredibly vocal about his support for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Although not originally a bitcoin fan, preferring the meme-based Dogecoin, Musk came around to the cryptocurrency in January.
Since then he has made pretty incredible predictions and claims that have stirred up not only the crypto community but often the bitcoin market itself.
He recently tapped bitcoin as the future currency of Earth and says he would never turn down being paid in bitcoin in the future.