Tesla Suspends Bitcoin Use Over Environmental Impact Concerns
Less than two months after Elon Musk announced that Tesla would begin accepting bitcoin for payment, it appears the CEO has made a dramatic turnaround, tweeting on Wednesday that Tesla will be suspending bitcoin payments over environmental concerns.
Musk, who has been unquestionably the most vocal proponent of bitcoin in American financial markets, proudly announced in April that it made a $272 million profit from the sale of its bitcoin holdings. Then, earlier this week, the Tesla CEO entertained the possibility that the EV maker may begin accepting meme cryptocurrency dogecoin for payment.
However, it appears that the cognitive dissonance stemming from the misalignment between Tesla’s environmentally-conscious persona and bitcoin’s enormous carbon footprint was too much to bare, prompting Musk, a strong believer in cryptocurrencies, to suspend bitcoin payments. “Cryptocurrency is a great idea on many levels and has a promising future but this cannot come at a great cost to the environment,” he wrote, adding that Tesla “will not be selling any bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy.”
The last metric perhaps hints that Musk may be mulling dogecoin as an alternative, which he recently embraced when he appeared as a host on Saturday Night Live last week. Then, on Monday, Musk announced that he will literally send dogecoin to the moon, via a satellite launch to the lunar orbit paid for entirely with the meme digital currency.
According to CoinMarketCap, bitcoin plummeted by more than 5% following Musk’s latest tweet.
Information for this briefing was found via CoinMarketCap and Twitter. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
